Dorothy Gale
by AnniBunnie
Summary: "There is no place like home." Dorothy Cahill and her Mother Octavia move back to their hometown Riverdale where Dot meets Jughead Jones, her old best friend, again. While navigating through the madness that is Riverdale she is met with some devestating truths about her family and friends and has to realize that her world won't ever be the same. [Seasons 1&2 of Riverdale]
1. Prologue

Dorothy Cahill and her mother Octavia had just moved from Kansas all the way back to Riverdale. When they first moved away, it was because her mom and dad broke up and got divorced. She got re-married a few years later. But that relationship ended as well. This and another terrible incident made both of them chase after a new start.

So at the beginning of Dot's summer break, Octavia went back to Riverdale to prepare the small house she had just bought for them. Dot stayed with a friend. She wasn't really needed in the move and needed some time to say good-bye to her friends.

Several incidents with the house and their car breaking down prevented Dot from starting her first year at Riverdale High with every other student. The young girl dreaded her first day now. Starting with everyone else might have been easier, but now a week later it was horrifying.

The girl arrived on a Sunday evening. It was a cold and rainy night. Dot was busy unpacking her things when her mother knocked on her doorframe. The brunette looked up, smiling at her mother. "Hey." she greeted. "Hey, baby. You hungry?" she asked, helping Dot hang up one of her movie posters. "Starving." Dot said laughing. They'd been on the road all day, it was a long drive from Kansas to Riverdale.

"Is Pop's still open? Is Pop's still a thing?" Dot asked chuckling. She hadn't been there in years. It used to be her refuge. Her mom laughed as well. "I'm pretty sure it's still open." the blonde woman said.

"Good. I need one of Pop Tate's burgers, immediatly." Dot said. "You can go. I'm not that hungry. But don't forget, curfew's at midnight. With everything that happened recently you probably shouldn't stay out so late. But since you're just going to Pop's I think you'll be fine." Octavia said.

Dot had found out that recently this popular kid named Jason Blossom had disappeared. It had apparently really brought this Town's reputation down.

"I'll be back before midnight. Unless I get caught up. But I doubt it." the young girl said, grabbing her jackett and keys. "Maybe you'll meet Betty or Archie...or Jughead." Octavia said, smiling.

Dot had been best friends with the three back in Elementary School. That was an eternity ago though and Dot doubted they would recognize her. She probably wouldn't recognize them either. "Mom, it's been eight years. They've grown up, I've grown up. We'll probably won't recognize each other in the slightest." Dot said as she walked out of her room, her mom closely behind her.

"Well, I think you'll be happy to hear that Betty and Archie live next door." Octavia said, following her daughter down the steps. "That's great. We'll see if we can re-kindle that friendship of ours, but right now - I need a burger." Dot said in a rush as she walked out the front door to her car...


	2. Jughead Jones

It was a dark and rainy night. The young brunette slid her hood onto her head as it started to rain heavier. She loved the rain, loved listening to it. It was soothing. She hugged her jackett tighter and already regrettet wearing a flowy dress today. She was walking to Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, fortunately it was still open. The neon sign was still flickering brightly, giving her a red shine as she entered the Diner. She quickly made her way toward the counter.

"What can I get you?" the waiter behind the counter asked her. She knitted her eyebrows together, thinking for a second. "A Chocolate shake please?" she asked. The waiter tiredly smiled. "Coming right up." he said. "Thanks." she said.

She scanned her surroundings in order to find a booth to sit at. She could have sat down at any booth really, with only a few night owls left in the Diner, but somehow she felt drawn to the one with a boy behind his laptop. She took the hood off her head again and slid into the opposite side of the booth waiting for her order. The Raven-haired guy seemed to invested in whatever he was typing on his computer so he didn't notice her sitting down, or he simply chose to ignore it.

A few minutes after sitting in awkward silence the boy finally lifted his head up and closed his laptop screen somewhat slowly. He knitted his eyebrows together, the girl mirrored him. "Can I help you?" he finally asked. The girl shook her head slowly. "Not really? How about you?" she asked.

He sighed, clearly not up for games. "What do you want?" he finally asked. The girl leaned back in her seat, playfully apalled. "Has your Mom never taught you any manners?" she asked. "She wasn't around much. So, what do you want?" he asked again.

"I don't know. I'm new here, you seemed dark and brooding at first glance but now I'm realizing you're probably just an ass." she snarked. He sighed again. "Fine. Let's start over. I'm Jughead." he said. The girl smiled. "Dot." she said. Jughead raised an eyebrow. "Dot?" he asked. "Jughead?" she shot back. "Touché." he said as he went back to his laptop. "Here you go." the waiter said as he dropped off Dot's Milkshake at the booth. "Thank you." Dot said.

Dot nipped on the straw leaning onto the table. "It's short for Dorothy." she said. Jughead looked up once more, seeming semi-interested in a conversation with her. But then again totally not. "Like Dorothy Gale?" he asked. Dot nodded. "Uhu. So what's Jughead stand for. Or is it like a nickname?" she asked as he went back to typing. "The latter." he said. "So what's your real name?" she asked. "You're really talky." he noted. "And you're really avoidy. So what's your real name?" she asked again. Jughead sighed. "Tell you what. I'll tell you my name if can be quiet for ten minutes." he said. "I love a challenge." she said.

So after ten minutes of furious typing and no word from Dot, Jughead closed his laptop for good this time. "Well. I am a man of my word. So as much as I hate to say this. It's Forsythe." he said. Dot tried to turn away, keeping her laughter hidden inside. "You can laugh if you want." he said. She shook her head. "I'm good." she said. "Listen Dot, I really don't think we'd be good friends. You seem to way to happy about everything." Jughead said. "What makes you think that? I'm practically dead on the inside." she said. A faint smile crept up on Jughead's face, but he wasn't ready to give in just yet.

"Where you from? Why'd you move here?" he asked. "I'm from Kansas." she said. "Oh stop it." he said. "I know, I know. It's weird, but it's the truth. And we've lived here before and now my mom got divorced and wanted to come back to Riverdale." Dot explained while sipping on her shake. Jughead nodded. "When did you move away?" he asked. "When my mom got divorced the first time and needed a new start." she said. "Have you heard about Jason Blossom?" Jughead asked. Dot shook her head. "I know who the Blossoms are. But not about Jason. So, give me all the juicy deets." Dot said, leaning onto the table again. Jughead mirrored her.

"He got killed." he simply said. Dot's eyes widened in excitement. "I love a good murder story. Who did it?" she asked. Jughead shrugged. "No one knows. All we know is that he and his sister, Cheryl, were on a Boat Trip on the fourth of July. The boat wrecked and Jason presumably drowned. But recently after a dance at our shool. Kevin Keller, the Son of Sheriff Keller, was having a secret make-out session with Moose Mason and they stumbled over Jason's body. Turns out he got shot." Jughead explained. "Damn." Dot said.

"Yeah. Must be weird seeing a dead body." he said. Dot took a heavy breath. "It sure doesn't erase itself from your brain. But the image usually fades." she said. Jughead looked at her, as if he needed to know when Dot saw a body. "Okay, so I was out with my Boyfriend one night. On our way home we took a short-cut trough the woods. Dumb move, I know." she said, stopping to think if she should really tell this to a stranger she'd just met.

"So, then we were attacked by a group of assholes who nearly beat my boyfriend to death and stole my money and jewlery. Thank God nothing else. My Boyfriend was in a coma and died a few days later and it wasn't pretty. There you go. Told you I'm dead inside." she said. Jughead didn't say anything, only listened.

"Juggie!" they suddenly heard someone shout behind them. Dot turned around. A blonde-haired girl in a high ponytail approached them and sat down next to Jughead. "Hey Betty." he said. Betty smiled at Dot. "Hi, I'm Betty Cooper. Nice to meet you." she said, extending her hand over the table. Dot shook it. "Dorothy Cahill. You can call me Dot though." she said. "She's new here." Jughead said. "Man, you really picked the right one with him as your newest friend." Betty said mockingly, but in a friendlier nice way. As if these two had been friends for long. "You know you love me." Jughead said. Betty and Dot laughed.

Dot looked down on her phone. It was close to midnight. She took some money out of her pocket and put it on the counter next to her empty glass. "Sorry ladys, but I gotta get home before midnight or else I'll turn back into a pumpkin." she said. "See you at school?" Jughead asked. "Look who wants to be friends now." Dot said smirking. "Of course. I don't have another choice, do I?" she asked as she put her jackett back on. It was still raining heavily so she slid on her hood before walking to the door. "See you tomorrow." she said as she headed for the door. "Bye. It was nice to meet you." Betty said with another slight wave. "You too." Dot said as she left the building. The bell over the door rang and the door slammed shut again.


	3. The Pep Rally

Dot woke up to the sound of her phone's alarm clock. She swiped it silent and almost immediatly fell back asleep, she wasn't a morning person. Luckily she'd never been a morning person so she now simply set five alarms in a row. After the fourth time her phone rang her mom finally got tired of it and banged on Dot's door, telling her to get up. Maybe it was a mistake staying at Pop's until almost midnight. Non-morning-people probably shouldn't stay up that late but, she was a Teenager after all and a night owl to add onto that. She almost fell out of bed and quickly got ready for school.

Dot hurried down the stairs to get her lunch and an apple like every morning. There was never really time for a big breakfast. "Morning mom, gotta run." Dot said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Ah, wait." she said. Dot stopped mid-run, almost slipping on the floor. She turned around to her mom. "Yeah?" she asked. "Archie Andrews will take you to school today." she said. "The guy next door?" Dot asked. Her mom nodded. "Why not Betty? She lives the other next door and I at least know her already." Dot asked. "Maybe you three can go together?" her mom asked. "Works with me. Alright, see you tonight. Bye." Dot greeted. "Have a great first day at school. Make good impressions." her mom shouted after her. "I'll try my best." Dot shouted back as she closed the door. "Can't promise anything though." she mumbled, leaving to go to Betty's house.

As she got ready to knock on the door she was met by what she assumed were Betty's parents. "Good morning." Mrs. Cooper said. "Can we help you with anything?" she added. "Uh-" Dot said before she was cut off. "She's here for me, mom. That's Dot from next door." Betty said, rushing out of the kitchen. Mrs. Cooper smiled at Dot. "Oh, Octavia's daughter. How's your mom doing?" she asked. "She's doing great, thank you for asking." Dot said. "Honey, we gotta run." Mr. Cooper said. "Well it was nice meeting you." Dot said. "You too." Mrs. Cooper said as they left.

"Hey Dot." Betty said as she closed the door to her. "Hi Betty. How you doin'?" Dot asked. "I'm okay. A little heart-broken maybe, but okay." Betty said. "What? What happened?" Dot asked, stopping Betty in her way. "Well there was this dance this weekend." Betty started explaining. "Yeah, Jughead told me about it." Dot said. Betty nodded. "Mmh. And I went with my long time crush Archie Andrews. And well when we later that night played seven minutes in heaven at Cheryl Blossom's house. He had to go into the closet with Veronica Lodge, the other new girl, and I'm pretty sure they kissed. Later that night I asked him if he loved me and he said no." Betty explained. "Aw, but I'm sure there are other great guys out there that will fall in love with you somday. Maybe even next week." Dot said. "That's nice of you but, I doubt it." Betty said as they walked away from the house.

"No I think it is. It's very possible actually. I always like to say that there's a match made in heaven for everyone. And my mom always likes to say that there are three kinds of love: the teenage one that almost never really makes it, the young-adult one that last a little longer than the teenage one, but eventually ends too and the adult one that lasts the longest and possibly even for a lifetime. So yeah, I think there's a match for everyone. You just have to keep looking. Just because Archie wasn't it, doesn't mean you won't find anyone." Dot explained. Betty smiled a bit. "That sounds great." she said. "So? What now?" Dot asked. "We're going to Archie's." Betty said. "Huh?" Dot asked.

And so after semi-awkwardly walking alongside an Archie and Betty make-up talk the three finally arrived at school where the three immediatly split up when Betty met with her friend Kevin and Archie simply left for his locker. "Well great and whose gonna help me find my damn locker and next class now?" Dot mumbled. "Maybe I can help." Jughead said as he swooped in and snatched the paper with Dot's classes and locker number out of her hands. "Good morning to you too, Jughead." Dot said. "Your morning just got a lot better." he said grinning. "What now?" Dot asked a little scared. "Your locker is right next to mine and we have the same first class together." Jughead said. "Something tells me you just might have changed all of that by hacking into the school computer or something." Dot said. "You humble me, but no. I'm good, but not that good." he said. "Okay fine. Let's go then." she said.

"So? What's this school like?" Dot asked. Jughead sighed. "Don't even ask. I mean, it already sucked before but now with Jason's death this school has become a Madhouse." he explained. Dot nodded. "I see. Well it can't be worse than any other Highschool, right?" she asked. "I guess. And here we are." he said as they arrived at their lockers. "Great. So what's out first class again?" she asked. "History." he said. "Phew. One thing I'm sort of good at." she said. "See? Your first day might not start as bad as you'd feared." Jug said. Dot smiled. "By the way. About the thing I told you last night, with me and my boyfriend. Could we please keep this between ourselves? I guess it was in the heat of the moment." Dot explained. "Of course. And I'm sorry for what happened there by the way." he said. "So am I." she said.

"Okay, so I gotta go talk to Archie before we go to class." he said. "Sure, I'll come with you. Unless you two need some man time." she said. Jug laughed. "No I'm good. You can come along." he said. "Great. Are you good friends with Archie? I heard some stuff about him." Dot said. "Uhm, well I guess we drifted a little apart. But anyway, there he is." he said almost throwing himself agains the locker next to Archie's.

"Hi." Archie greeted. "Do you think I can use Jason Blossom's death as an excuse to get out of PE? 'Sorry, Coach, I'm just too depressed and freaked-out right now to do pull-ups.' " Jug asked. It might have been a little tasteless, but Dot assumed Jughead wasn't on good terms with Jason when he was still alive. "Don't joke about Jason Blossom." Archie said. "What? Sardonic humor is just my way of relating to the world." Jug said defensively.

Just then, the jocks arrived at school and Dot wasn't ready for a bunch of jockdiots just yet. And neither was Jughead apparently as he scoffed next her. "Look, it's the rich kids from The Goonies. All right, I'm out. You coming, Dot?" he asked. "Right behind you." Dot said as Jug accidently ran into the leader. "Watch it, Wednesday Adams." he mocked. "You know, Wednesday Adams is an American Icon. So if you're gonna burn someone do it good or maybe just not at all." Dot said to him. The group simply laughed at her and left. "Thanks for trying." Jug said. "Well it's just the truth. She's like an American Hero." Dot said. Jug laughed again. "I like it when you smile. Makes you look a lot more handsome." Dot said. "I'm more of a silent laughing guy." he said. They were cut off by Principal Weatherbee speaking over the sound system.

"Good morning, students. This is your principal speaking. There have been many inquiries about the upcoming pep rally. So let me state clearly, it is happening, as scheduled." he announced. "Wow, there's a murderer on the loose and they're not cancelling a pep rally filled with a bunch of young students who will most likely get drunk afterwards and stumble onto the lake to have sex or whatever. These guys sure know what they're doing." Dot said. "You don't have to go." Jug said. "Of course I do. Mom's orders. She's coming too though so, fun times." Dot said sarcastically. "Now, on a less felicitous note, if you could give your attention to Sheriff Keller." Weatherbee continued.

"Most of you already know the details, but your classmate Jason Blossom's body was found late Saturday night. So as of the weekend, Jason's death is now being treated as a homicide. It is an open and ongoing investigation." Sheriff Keller explained.

"And may I interject, neither I nor my parents will rest until Jason's death is avenged, and his cold-hearted killer is walking the green mile to sit in Old Sparky and fry. I, for one, have my suspicions. #RiverdaleStrong." Cheryl intervened. "It is weird right? Like the fact that she's still playing this Queen B while every other freaking normal person probably wouldn't even be at school after something like that happened to them." Dot asked. "This whole thing has too many layers to go through. Who knows what's wrong with Cheryl." Jug explained."True. Maybe she just doesn't want anyone to think that they can trample her down just because she's grieving." Dot backpaddled. Maybe it wasn't the nicest thing to judge Cheryl solely on what she's heard, even if it was enough.

"If you know anything that could help us find and apprehend Jason's killer, or anything about what happened to him on July 4th, I strongly urge you to come forward immediately. You can speak with me or Principal Weatherbee. A death like this wounds us all. Let's not let Jason down." Sheriff Keller concluded.

Dot knitted her eyebrows together as Jug and her kept walking to their History class. "A death like this wounds us all? I've seen the people in this town, they don't seem that wounded." Dot said. "I don't even think Keller himself is too wounded about all of this. But it's the Sheriff, you know? And he's involved with the Blossom's. So, of course he has to say he is deeply wounded by Jason's death." Jug said. "You sure know a lot." Dot said. "It's enough to get by." he said.

Dot was sitting in Biology class, looking down on her phone. "Seats, everyone. Pair off, gloves on, scalpels up." the teacher announced as he entered the class room. "Oh man." Dot whispered. "Can I be with Cheryl?" Archie asked. "And I wanna be with Betty." Veronica demanded. "Oh, uh, I was thinking I'd partner with Kevin." Betty said, obviously trying to avoid Veronica. "Actually, uh, Keller's with me. We, like, talked." Moose said. "Oh, God." Kevin made behind Dot. Great. First day of school, almost no friends and now she was supposed to partner up with someone.

"Just my luck, I guess." Dot mumbled. "I need a partner. If you're still free." Jug spoke up in front of her. Dot smiled. Thank god for Jughead. She grabbed her stuff and plopped down on the seat next to him. "Thanks. That might have gotten a little awkward." Dot said. "Of course." he said. "Ever disected a frog before?" he added. "Yeah. Have you ever kissed one before? Wanna try it?" she asked, shoving the frog over to Jug. "No, thanks. Walter over here is my date for today. I can't just go on and take your friend to second base. That'd be really rude." Jug said. Dot laughed under her breath. "Well man, looks like you're stuck with me." she said and suddenly got startled by a noise behind her. She turned around. Cheryl had stabbed the scalpel into the frog, dragging it down as if torturing it. "God, what is wrong with her?" Dot mumbled to herself.

School ended and Dot was on her way home when Betty stopped her. "Dottie! Wait up!" she yelled. Dot stopped to let Betty catch up with her. "Hey, so how was your first day at school?" Betty asked, a little out of breath. "It was just fine, actually. Didn't think that was possible." Dot said. Betty laughed. "So how was your day?" Dot asked Betty. Betty sighed. "Not good, but it's looking up. Actually, Cheryl's coming over to my house later." she explained. Dot raised an eyebrow. "Cheryl? Really? Didn't think you'd be such a huge fan of her." Dot said. "I wasn't. I guess I'm still not. Trying doesn't hurt though." Betty said. "Hopefully. Hey, uhm give me your phone for a second." Dot said. Betty was confused, but fished her phone out of her pocket anyway. "This is my number. If anything bad happens with Cheryl. Call me. We'll meet outside and you can come over to my house." Dot offered as she punched her number into Betty's phone. "Thanks, Dottie. I will. Well I gott run, see you." Betty said as she hurried home.

Dot arrived home. Her mom was still at work so she did her homework and then sat out on the porch as the sun went down. She was watching some YouTube videos, when she suddenly saw Cheryl stumble out of Betty's house. Then quickly drive off in her car. "The hell?" Dot mumbled as she closed her Laptop screen. A text from Betty pooped up on her phone. "I need you, like right now." it read. "Good lord, this can't be good." Dot said. She put her Laptop back inside the house and went over to Betty's. "Hi. I messed up. Can we go over to your house please?" Betty almost frantically said when she opened the door. "Of course. Let's go." Dot said as she put her arm around Betty and took her back to her house.

Dot took Betty to her room. It wasn't completely finished yet but Dot had already put her most valuable Horror Movie posters on the wall. On second thought she realized they might put Betty off or make her think Dot was a sociopath. "Sorry, I know these might be a bit weird to look at." Dot said. "Scream, Child's Play and Dawn of the Dead. Classics." Betty said. "I have more, but I had to promise my mom not to hang all of them up." Dot said. "You're mom's probably still a lot better than mine." Betty said. "She can't be that bad." Dot said. "Trust me. She is. And I don't wanna know what happens when she finds out that Cheryl was at our house." Betty said.

"Yeah, about that. Do you wanna tell me why Cheryl just stumbled out of your house as if she was chased by a murderer?" Dot asked. Betty looked around, most likely trying to avoid the question. "I might have threatened to kill her." Betty finally said. Dot's eyes widened. "You did what now?" she asked. "She was talking bad about my Sister Polly. It was in the heat of the moment." Betty tried defending herself. "Oh Betty." Dot sighed. "If this isn't gonna mark you as the killer of the girls brother, I don't know what is." she added. "I didn't do it though." Betty said. "Of course you didn't. But what do you think happens when Cheryl tells everyone what just happened?" Dot asked. Betty sighed. "I don't know." she said.

It was the next day and in one free period the students were hanging out in the school lounge. "So you going to the pep rally tonight?" Dot asked Jug. "We'll see." Jug said. "C'mon. You have to, please. I need someone there that I know and that isn't my mom." Dot begged. "What about Betty?" Jug asked. "You know she's part of the River Vixens. She'll be part of the show. And I don't really know anyone else that well." Dot said. Jug sighed. "Maybe, okay?" he asked. Dot playfully pouted when suddenly Reggie got louder while talking to the others. Dot couldn't help but role her eyes at what he was saying.

"And Sheriff Keller's grilling me, Mantle the Magnificent. 'Cause I'd want Blossom dead. When he was, like, the only good quarterback we had." Reggie said. Dot sighed annoyed. "And speaking of offensive tight-ends, I should've sent the cops to you, Moose. Because here's another unsolved mystery. What exactly were you and Kevin doing at the river, huh? Or does being with the sheriff's son give you a free pass? Keller?" Reggie continued. He just couldn't let it go. "Reggie's just being a blowhard, Kev." Betty assured her Best Friend. "I don't care what he says." Kevin said. Dot had only talked to Kevin once, but it was already enough to make her realize that he doesn't take crap from anyone. A character trade she really admired about him.

"If a kid at Riverdale killed Jason, it's not gonna be a jock, right? Now let's be honest. Isn't it always some spooky, scrawny, pathetic Internet troll, too busy writing his manifestos to get laid? Some smug, moody, serial killer fanboy freak, like Jughead?" Reggie said as he turned around to Jug. It earned him a good laugh from the others. Dot couldn't understand how Reggie and his jock friends could be so tasteless about this subject. Jason was their "friend" after all.

"What was it like, Suicide Squad? When you shot Jason? You didn't do stuff to the body, did you? Like After?" Reggie asked. "Ecch." Dot asked, turning away in disgust. "It's called necrophilia, Reggie, can you spell it?" Jug asked. "Now that's a burn." Dot said. "Come here, you little-" Reggie said, jumping up to attack Jug. "Hey shut the hell up, Reggie." Archie warned, holding him back. "Boys." Veronica warned. "What do you care, Andrews?" Reggie asked. "Nothing, just leave him alone." Archie said. "Holy crap. Did you and Donnie Darko kill him together? Was it some sort of pervy, blood brother thing?" Reggie asked, only trying to push him further. And it was working as Archie now attacked him and a fight broke out.

Another jock pulled back Jug who was trying to help Archie. He punched him repeatedly in the stomach. "Hey!" Dot yelled as she jumped on the jocks back. He flailed his arms, trying to get the girl off of him. Normally that would have been no problem for the jock as Dot was light as a feather, but she clawed onto him as if her life was depending on it. Meanwhile the rest of the students in the lounge and some teachers were busy breaking up the other fight. The jock seemed to get tired of Dot on her back, he flailed around some more until he accidently elbowed her in the lip.

Dot let go with a whimper and fell to the ground next to Jug. "Crap." she made as blood flowed down her lips and chin. "Dot! Juggie! Are you guys okay?" Betty asked as she and Kevin kneeled down to them. "Here, show me your lip." Betty said, lifting Dot's chin to get a closer look at her lip. Meawhile, Kevin was helping Jug up. Dot whinced once more. "Doesn't look good. Let's get you guys to the nurse." Betty said. "Yeah, c'mon." Kevin said as he dragged Jug out of the lounge.

"Your lip should be okay. It wasn't to bad of a hit and luckily won't need stitches. Good thing he didn't punch one of your teeth out." the nurse said. "Okay. Thanks." Dot said, holding a cooling pack on her lips. "What about him?" Dot asked, looking over at Jug. He was laying on a near-by stretcher, most likely throwing up every second. The nurse sighed. "He'll be fine. He'll feel a little sick though. I recommend you guys go home for the rest of the day. Maybe bring him home once he can stand up without gagging." she concluded. "Okay." Dot said once more. The nurse left the room, most likely to treat Archie and Reggie, and Dot took a chair so she could sit down next to Jughead.

"Feeling a little better?" Dot asked. "Yeah. You don't need to bring me home. I can just walk." Jug quickly said. "The hell you will. You're this close to breaking down onto the floor again. I'm bringing you home and you'll lay down a bit." Dot said. Jug sighed. "Fine. How's your lip, Million Dollar Baby?" he asked. Dot laughed a little. "Ouch." she made, touching her lip. "Don't make me laugh, damnit." she said. "Sorry." Jug said. "It's okay. Think you're ready to stand up so I can get you home?" Dot asked. Jug lifted himself of the stretcher. "Yeah. I'm fine." he said. Dot stod up and put his arm over her shoulders to steady him. "Okay, let's get out of here." she said.

As the two were walking out of the nurses office they were met with a concerned Betty and Kevin immediatly. "How are you? All good?" Betty asked. "Ohh girl, you took a pretty bad hit didn't you?" Kevin asked. "Yup." Dot said. "What about me? I thought I'm the one you cared about in this thing. I mean you did carry me all the way here." Jug said to Kevin. "More like dragged. And I'm pretty sure your not on my side of love. In fact I'm pretty sure you're on no ones side of love." Kevin said. "Kev." Betty said nudging him in the side. "What? We're all thinking it." he said. "Okay, okay. Enough. I'd better bring Jug home now before he vomits all over you." Dot said. "Ew." Kevin made. Dot shook her head, laughing a little. "Okay, see you tonight at the pep rally?" Dot asked. "Of course." Betty said. "What else?" Kevin asked. Dot smiled. "Good. Bye then." she said.

"Where do you live again?" Dot asked Jug as they were close to leaving town. "I live at the Twilight Drive-In." Jug said after a few second of hesitation. "I love it there. My Mom and me went there every weekend." Dot said. "My family too. Are you sure we've never met?" Jug asked. "Maybe we have and I just forgot. I have the memory of a Goldfish." Dot said. "Wait? You live at the Drive-In?" Dot asked. "Yeah." he said. "Jug..." Dot sighed. "Why aren't you living with your parents?" Dot said. "Don't wanna talk about it." Jug said. Dot nodded. It was obvious she was over-stepping several boundaries right now for the fact that Jughead and her had been friends for just a day. "Okay. I'll leave it at that." she said. "Thanks. We're almost there." he said. The rest of the walk went by silent.

"Okay, there you go." Dot said, helping Jug on his make-shift bed. "Thanks again. For helping me. Sorry you got hurt. I should probably just shut up sometimes." Jug said as he sat down. Dot shook her head. "If we can't even defend yourself against Reggie 'the Moron' Mantle then what else are we supposed to do to make it through this living hell?" Dot asked. Jug smiled faintly. "Do you think you'll be at the pep rally tonight?" Dot asked. He shrugged. "I'm feeling better. I think I might be there. For you. And Betty. And maybe even for Kevin." he joked. Dot laughed. "Great." she said. She held up a finger as if saying "One second." Dot pulled out her notebook and wrote something down. She ripped the paper out and handed it to Jug. "Here. This is my number and adress. If you ever have trouble - with anything or anyone - talk to me." she said. "Thanks. I will." he said as he took the paper from her hand. "Okay. Well, see you tonight then." Dot said as she left. "Yeah, see ya." Jug said, faintly smiling.

"Mom! I'm home." Dot yelled, dropping her keys in a bowl that was standing on a table by the door. "In here!" her Mom yelled back. It was coming from the kitchen. "How was your day?" Dot asked. "Stressfull. How was your-Dot! What happened?!" Ms. Cahill asked, raising up Dot's chin to get a look at her lip. "I just got into a fight." Dot said. "Who did that?" Ms. Cahill asked. "A jock. But it was an accident. I was just helping my friend." Dot said. "Oh okay. Of course, that makes busting your lip open all better." Octavia said sarcastically. Dot sighed annoyed. Her mom put her hands around Dot's face. "Oh Dot, honey, we moved back here so we could both have a new start. Me from your Dad and you from...you know." her mom said. She never liked to talk about that one night and Dot figured she never would. "Yeah." Dot said. "Well, you picked a great town to start all over." she added. "Okay, tell you what. Let's just forget about this thing. I'm glad you helped your friend though." Ms. Cahill smiled. The doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Dot said.

Dot opened the door and was greeted by Jughead. "Speaking of the devil." Dot said. "Hey." Jug smiled. "Didn't I tell you to lay down and rest?" Dot asked. "Did you look at the clock? The pep rally starts soon." Jug said. Dot and her mom had forgotten the time while talking, it really was getting late. "Crap! I gotta get ready! See you in ten, by the car, everyone who isn't there stays here!" Ms. Cahill yelled as she ran up the stairs. Jug laughed. "Come in, will ya? I gotta get ready too, just wait in the kitchen or something. Sit down. Back in five." Dot said, hurrying up the stairs. She only really had to change her outfit. Dot didn't believe in dressing up to the max for school activities, unless it was something where you had to fress fancy.

The brunette hurried back down the stairs, almost falling on the last one. "Woah! Everytime!" she muttered. "Dorothy! You ready?" her mom called from the kitchen. "Yeah! Let's go!" she yelled. Dot's mom went ahead to get the car out of the garage. Her and Jug went out front to...reflect on the day, if you will. "I still can't believe that you were able to claw yourself onto the Bull that is Ryan the jock for almost five minutes." Jug said. "I can't still can't believe that you got yourself knocked out within the first five seconds, making me - the fragile little doll that I am - jump in and save the day." Dot said somewhat mockingly. Jug roled his eyes.

"Hey, lovbirds, will you please get into this car?! It's getting late!" Ms. Cahill yelled, while waiting in the driveway. "Mom!" Dot whispered sternly. Jug was the first friend she'd made in Riverdale and her mom had a reputation of making Dot's friendships with Boys awkward, like more awkward than that is by itself already. Much to Dot's surprise though, Jug just laughed once more. "Sorry, she can be so weird sometimes. I don't even know where she gets it from." Dot said. "I like your mom. She seems pretty cool." Jug said. "I got a cool mom. Thank the heavens!" Dot said, snickering.

It was dark by the time the trio had arrived at the Football field and once again it had start raining. "You coming, Jug?" Dot asked as her Mom was getting them seats. "Yeah, just a second. I gotta talk to Archie real quick. I'll come later." he answered. Dot nodded. "Okay." she said, then rushed after her Mother.

"Dottie! Here!" Ms. Cahill shouted. Dot fought her way to the filled rows of people and sat down next to her Mom. "Where's Jughead?" Ms. Cahill asked. "Talking to Archie. He'll be here in a second." Dot said. Ms. Cahill nodded. "Oh, I think it's starting." Ms. Cahill said as Mayor McCoy, Prinicipal Weatherbee and Coach Clayton entered the stage.

"Now to kickoff this pep rally, I'd like to hand it over to our very own Mayor McCoy." Prinicpal Weatherbee announced. "Thank you, Principal Weatherbee. It is heartening to see so many of you here, even in weather like this. But a lack of heart and school spirit has never been the Riverdale way. Tonight's pep rally isn't like any other we've had in the past. And we shouldn't pretend that it is. Which is why I would like to dedicate this evening to the memory of one of our brightest. Jason Blossom. We're with him tonight." Mayor McCoy said.

"Now please, join me in welcoming to the field our very own River Vixens, and their special guest stars, my daughter, Josie and her Pussycats!" she concluded as the three girls came on stage and started playing their song. The River Vixens joined in and Dot was impressed. They had talent, especially Veronica and Betty.

"They are amazing." Ms. Cahill said. Dot nodded. "Mmmh." she hummed. "Yeah, they're great. Hey Dot, you sure you didn't wanna try out for the Vixens?" Jug asked as he sat down next to them. Dot snorted. "Do I look like Cheerleader material to you?" she asked laughing. "First looks are deceiving." he simply said. Dot shook her head. "Well I'm not. I'm more of a quiet kinda' gal', you know?" she said smirking. "Yeah, I get it."Jug said just as Josie and the Pussycat's finished their song.

The crowd was cheering for the girls and then Coach Clayton walked back onto the stage. "All right, you all ready? Let's make some noise! Put your hands together for the Riverdale Bulldogs!" he said. The Football team ran out with Archie coming out first. Dot looked onto the stage, seeing Cheryl. Her gaze went sad and she ran off the stage and away.

"This Girl should really take a break." Dot said. "Probably." Jug said. Everyone else quickly tried to glance over what just happened and so the Game began.

When the Game had ended Dot and Jug went to Archie. "Great job, dude. You killed it out there." Dot told Archie. "Thanks, Dot. So got any more plans for tonight?" Archie asked the two. Dot shrugged. "Pop's?" Jug asked. "Sure. I'll just say good-bye to my mom. Wait here." Dot said.

Her mom was on her way to the car when Dot found here. "Mom! Hey, uhm, is it okay if go to Pop's with Jug and Archie?" she asked. "Sure, but, remember curfew's at midnight and maybe walk home with Archie. I don't want you walking alone right now." Ms. Cahill said. Dot nodded. "Sure. I'll see you tomorrow." Dot said, waving as she rushed back to Jug and Archie. "Okay, we can go." she said. "Great. Let's go." Jug said.

"And so at some point they realized that it wasn't really working out between them anymore and so they mutually decided to get a divorce. It was a lot better than the first time with my dad. So afterwards my Mom didn't really have anything that tied her to Kansas, our Family and most of her High School Friends live here so she decided it was time to come back home." Dot concluded.

"I'm pretty sure we've met before. Didn't you eat a Crayon when we were in Daycare?" Archie asked. Dot laughed, thinking back to that day. "Yes, oh my god, I do know you guys. It's just that after Daycare my mom and dad got divorced and we moved. Pretty sure I might have forgotten about you after that. Sorry." Dot explained. "That's okay, I mean we can't exactly say we haven't forgotten about you too." Jug said. They were in the Parking Lot of Pop's when a blonde-haired girl approached the group.

"Oh my god! Dot?" she asked. "Yeah...Kippi! Good lord, I haven't seen you in years." she said as she regonized the girl. They used to be best friends. Then Kippi moved away.

"Wait, Kippi as in Kippi Fitch?" Jug asked. The girl hesitated for a second. "Actually, it's Goode now." she said. "Oh, yeah, understandable." Jug said. Kippi nodded, trying to avoid the subject on why she changed her name. "Yeah." she said.

"Well, wanna come in with us?" Dot asked. Kippi smiled. "Sure." she nodded. "Okay, let's do this." Dot said as they walked into Pop's. "When did you come back?" Kippi asked. "Last Week. You?" Dot asked. "Last year." Kippi said. "Aren't you always sitting here, writing?" Jug asked. "Aren't you always doing the same thing?" Kippi asked. "Touché." Jug said.

They walked in. The bell above the door rang. Dot spotted Betty and Veronica at a nearby table. So seemed they. "Do you guys want to join us?" Betty asked after a few seconds of hesitant thinking. "Yes, but only if you're treating." Jug said. The group laughed and made their way to the table.

"Veronica Lodge." the raven-haired girl said as she extended her hand. Jug swiftly climbed next to her. "Jughead Jones, the third." he said as he finally sat down. "Jughead Jones, the third." Veronica repeated as she made a little room so Kippi could sit down next to her. "Dorothy Cahill." Dot introduced herself. "Kippi Goode." the blonde said next to Veronica. "Nice to meet you guys. It's good to know that I'm not the only new girl." Ronnie said. Dot laughed. "By the way, you two did amazing today." Dot said elatedly. "Thanks, Dottie." Betty said smiling at the girl.

She hadn't had an evening like this in a long time. Just sitting with her friends, talking the night away. She didn't even notice when eleven-thirty rolled around. "Well. It's been fun. But I gotta get home." Dot said. "I'll walk you home." Jug offered as he stuffed the rest of his fries in his mouth.

Dot wanted to decline and just walk home with Archie and Betty. But the rest of the group still seemed in a deep conversation so she just nodded. "See you tomorrow, Dot." Betty said. "Yeah. Wanna walk to School together again?" Dot asked Betty and Archie. "Sure. Goodnight." Archie said. The group waved good-bye and Dot and Jug exited the Diner.

"Holy crap. Did you know Kippi was back?" Dot asked Jug. He shrugged. "Like I said. I had seen her writing at Pop's and occasionaly literally ran into her at School. I think otherwise she might just be home though. I mean, it's pretty understandable if you ask me. Her and her Grandma are just the rest of the probably most shunned Family in Riverdale's history." Jug explained. "Do people recognize her? Like in the bad way?" Dot asked. Jug shook his head. "Not really. I don't think the next Generation really knows what happened back then. "They were like eight years old when it happened after all." he explained. "Thank God. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have something like that happen to you." Dot said.

"I mean, something like that did kind of happen to you." Jug said carefully, seeing if he could bring it up. Dot stayed silent for a few seconds. "Yeah, but not to that extend." Dot said. Jug nodded. "I guess. Let's just not talk about it anymore. She seems to have worked trough it by now. Let's just leave it at that." he said.

The next day Dot and Jug sat next to each other in Biology. "So, I found out that Kippi is working on a Novel too." Dot told Jug smirking. "Really? About what?" he asked, leaning back in his seat. "She won't tell me. She's almost done though. Maybe you can ask her about it when you two are writing at Pop's again." Dot proposes. "Maybe I should do that." Jug said as suddenly Prinicpal Weatherbee and Sheriff Keller walked into the Room.

Cheryl stood up. "You're here for me, aren't you? Because of the autopsy?" she asked the two men. "We don't need to do this in front of your classmates, Cheryl." Prinicpal Weatherbee informed her. "It's all right, Principal Weatherbee. They'll find out soon enough." the red-head said, sticking out her hands signaling that she's ready to be handcuffed and brought away. "Now, that won't be necessary." Sheriff Keller said.

"Wait, Cheryl, find out what?" Veronica asked next to the girl. After a moment of hesitation Cheryl spoke up. "That I'm guilty." she said. "What?" Dot mumbled in schock. Sheriff Keller guided Cheryl out of the Class Room and while everyone else was obviously following out of curiosity what the hell Cheryl was guilty of exactly Dot and a few other students stayed behind, wondering if Cheryl would actually be cold-hearted enough to kill her own brother.


	4. The Evil Adventure Scout

"Do you think she actually killed her brother?" Dot asked Jug. He shook his head, still in thought. "I don't know." he said. "I actually don't think so. That would be way too easy." Dot explained. "Crazier things have happened. What if they got into a fight and she killed him?" Jug asked.

"Or what if she's just a cold-hearted and crazy bitch that finally snapped?" Kippi asked, joining the two. By now the bell had rung and basically everyone had heard that Cheryl was in the Prinicpal's office with Sheriff Keller. "Maybe she is. We'll find out soon enough." Dot said shrugging.

* * *

"Cheryl Blossom confessed? To what? Murdering her own brother?" Octavia asked her daughter. "No, apparently she only confessed to Jason wanting to run away and her helping him. Oh, and she said she heard a gunshot and thinks that that was the first attempt to kill Jason. You know, 'cause Alice Cooper wrote that Jason was actually killed a week after the 4th of July." Dot explained.

"I can't belive she actually printed that. I mean, openly disliking the Blossom's is one thing. But printing the Autopsy Report of their dead son is on a whole other leve of heartless." Octavia said. "Well Jason apparently really hurt Betty's sister Polly." Dot said, trying to defend the Cooper's.

"Honey, Alice Cooper is a manic control freak that would do and say anything to keep everything under her control. Even lie about why her daughter isn't here anymore." Octaiva informed Dot.

* * *

"So, are you a suspect now?" Veronica asked Archie. The group of friends was sitting in the student lounge in their break. Archie just broke the news that he too heard a gunshot on the 4th of July. "My dad says we all are, including me." Kevin said.

"Not me, girl. I don't know these people." V said. "Me neither. I mean, I knew Jason. But he or Cheryl never did anything to me so I had no reason to kill him. Also I didn't come back here before last week." Dot rambled. "Guys, should we maybe re-binge Making a Murderer on Netflix tonight?" Kevin asked.

"Sorry. Can't. Gotta stay late to work on the paper." Betty said. "I'm free." Kippi said. Kevin smiled. "No, actually I need you too. I mean, only if you want of course." Betty said. "You want me to help you work on the Blue and Gold?" Kippi asked.

"I wanted to ask you and Jug later actually. But since you're here now..." Betty said. "Sure. I'm in. Thanks, Betty. Sorry, Kev." Kippi said. "Count me out, too. I've got a date tonight." Veronica said.

"You do? " Archie asked. "Which Riverdale hottie made the cut?" Kevin asked. "Hey, Vee-Lo. I'll swing by the Pembrooke to pick you up at 8:00?" Chuck Clayton, son of Coach Clayton and one-time-date of Kippi suddenly called out. "I'll be waiting." Veronica said, smirking. "Chuck." Kippi said. "Hey, Kip." he said coldly, then exited the lounge with Reggie and Moose.

"I sense the second ice age ahead." Kevin said. "I gotta go. See you later." Kippi said as she gathered her things. Veronica lightly grabbed her by the arm. "Did I do something?" she asked. Kippi sighed. "No. You didn't." the blonde said before she too exited the lounge.

"Chuck Clayton?" Betty asked Veronica. "You're going on a date with Chuck?" Kevin asked. "He's kind of a player." Betty said. "Who cares? He's the hottest of hot, and he's the varsity football coach's son. In Riverdale, that's like dating a Kennedy." Kev explained.

"Hey, I'm down for tonight. If the offer still stands." Dot told Kevin. "Yes please. I've been wanting to hang out with you." he said. Dot smiled. "Alright. See you tonight." Dot said as she gathered her things.

* * *

"This is one of the best shows ever made." Dot said, grabbing another handfull of popcorn. "Totally. So, why are you back?" Kevin asked. "My mom got divorced." Dot said. "Again?" Kevin asked. The first time Octavia Cahill got divorced it wasn't exactly in a quiet matter, since moving to another state from one day to another doesn't really go unnoticed in a small town like Riverdale.

"Yeah. She said it was time to come back home. I swear though, if she marry's and gets divorced one more time and then wants to move again I'll get divorced from her." Dot said. "Woah, Dot. She's your mom. Don't you just want the best for her?" Kevin asked.

Dot sighed. "I do. But I'm also sick of continuisly trying to find new friends everytime she feels the need to move." Dot said. "I sometimes wish I could move. Anything to get out of this town." Kevin said as he stared onto his TV screen. Dot could relate to what he was saying, never had she wanted to just run away more than she did a few months back.

* * *

"So, how'd it go with Chuck?" Kevin asked Veronica. Dot thought he was way too excited because of a freaking date with a jock. But, hey, it was just who he was. Veronica laughed. "Chuck has muscles for days, but his conversation is not the stuff of Oscar Wilde, or even Diablo Cody." she explained.

"Hey, Veronica. How was the Sticky Maple you had last night?" Cheryl's minion Ginger asked, smirking devilishly. "The what now?" V asked confused. "The Sticky Maple Chuck gave you? How was it?" Tina asked smirking just a devilishly as Ginger. "We had a brownie sundae, if that's what you hyenas mean." Veronica said annoyed, closing her locker.

Suddenly, almost all cellphones around the group rang. And if Dot knew one thing, it's that if almost every students cell phone is ringing at the same time, it can't be good. "Oh, my God." Kevin made as he looked down on his phone. Dot glanced over. It was a picture of Veronica and Chuck with a Maple streak over Veronica's face.

Dot hadn't known what a Sticky Maple was, but it seemed stupid to her whatever it was.. "What?" Veronica asked, snatching Kevin's phone out of his hands. "What the hell is a Sticky Maple?" Veronica asked beyond pissed. "It's kind of what it sounds like. It's a Riverdale thing." Kevin explained.

"No, Kevin, it's a slut-shaming thing. And I'm neither a slut, nor am I going to be shamed by someone named, excuse me, Chuck Clayton. Does he really think he can get away with this? Does he not know who I am? I will cut the brakes on his souped-up phallic symbol." V declared angrily.

"Or we can go to Principal Weatherbee." Betty said. "Yeah, that's a good idea. And it won't get you arrested." Dot agreed. Even though she was just as discusted by this as Veronica, she didn't want the girl to get herself in trouble.

"About the coach's son? Who is captain of the football team, and Riverdale High's resident golden boy?" Veronica asked in disbelieve. "Or I can expose him in the pages of the Blue and Gold. Yeah, I can do that!" Betty proposed.

"Spoken like a true good girl who always follows the rules. Well, I don't follow rules," Veronica said, slamming Kevin against his locker. "I make them, and when necessary, I break them. You wanna help me get revenge on Chuck, Betty, awesome. But you better be willing to go full dark, no stars. What do you say, in or out?" she concluded angrily. Betty some-what unwillingly followed Veronica, if only to do some damage control.

"Are you okay, Kev?" Dot asked. "Yeah." he said. "What happened?" Jug asked, joining the couple. "Veronica went on a date with Chuck last night and got a Sticky Maple. And now she's out for revenge. God knows what she'll do. Let's just hope Chuck doesn't end up dead in the River too." Dot explained.

"You know if she wants revenge she should talk to Kippi." Jug said. "Huh?" Kevin asked. "Yeah, don't you remember? Kippi allegedly got a Sticky Maple two months ago. I've talked Kippi at least once and she did not seem like that type of girl." Jug explained. "Right. How could I forget that? That's why Kippi was so mad yesterday. Chuck probably did that to her. That's why she was so cold." Kevin said.

"Why didn't she say anything? She could've saved Veronica a lot of trouble." Dot said. "Maybe she thought Veronica wouldn't believe her." Kevin said. Dot sighed. "I'll text Betty and tell her to talk to Kippi." Dot said, getting out her phone. "I gotta run. See you later." Kevin said before walking off.

"Wanna meet at Pop's after school?" Dot asked Jug, typing away on her phone. "Can't. I gotta talk to Dilton Doiley." Jug said. "The guy that found Cheryl drenched at Sweetwater River? Want me to come with you?" Dot asked, sliding her phone back into her pockett.

"I think I can handle someone like Doiley." Jug said. "Let me get a quick summary of Dilton Doiley. Leader of the Adventure Scouts, total loser, is most likely very afraid of women. Yeah, I think you might need me." Dot explained. Jug slightly laughed. "Okay. But what exactly will be your cover?" Jug asked. "I have a Camera. I could pretend that I'm the Blue & Gold's photographer." Dot said shrugging.

Jug smirked. "Alright. Are you actually a photographer though?" he asked. "A little bit. It's more of a hobby." she said. "Maybe you should ask Betty if she'll hire you." he offered. "Sure. I'll ask. That doesn't hurt." Dot said.

* * *

"Hey Betty. How'd things with Chuck go?" Dot asked as she arrived at the Blue & Gold office. Betty sighed. "Ahhh, not so good. He's resistant. As expected." she explained. "Maybe I can help." Kippi said, standing in the doorway. "Kippi. Thank you so much for coming." Betty said.

"Sure. I'm not going on the record though." she said. Betty thought for a second. "Maybe we can discuss that later. Why don't you just tell us what happened first?" Betty suggested, patting the chair next to her. Kippi said down with a sigh. Betty got out her notebook and pen.

"Okay, well when I first moved back here I didn't really have friends and I didn't really want to make any since I was afraid I'd be shunned as the you-know-what's daughter." Kippi started. Betty nodded.

"But, after a ten months of only going out to sit in a booth at Pop's alone, writing my novel. My Grandma nearly chased me out of the house to go make some friends. So I started talking to people. No one really seemed to remember me or my family. And then one day Chuck asked me out on a date. I agreed." she explained.

"I was so excited, thinking that I could finally go back to a some-what normal life. So we went to go see a movie and sat in his car afterwards. We kissed. And only that. And the next day he said, or posted, that he had given me a Sticky Maple and so I was back to being the loner that no one wanted to talk to. Even worse, now I was the loner slut no one wanted to talk to." she went on.

"So what happened then?" Betty asked. "Well, I couldn't really take the mean comments anymore at some point. I showed my gran and well you know, she'd defend me from anything at all costs, so she went to the Principal. He advised me to basically just forget about it and maybe delete my social media accounts."

My gran got so mad, that she basically threatened to take me out of Riverdale High and go to your mother to have this story printed if nothing would be done. So Weatherbee, fearing the good reputation of this school would go downhill, said he'd give Chuck a 'stern talk'. And, well, look were we are at now." Kippi concluded.

Betty shook her head. "Unbelievable." she said. "Yeah. So now you know why I won't go on the record." Kippi said. "Please, Kippi. We need your story to give Chuck what he deserves." Betty pleaded. Kippi sighed.

"I'll think about it. Maybe if you can gather some more evidence and story's. I suggest you talk to Ethel and Ginger. He did that to them too." Kippi said. "What, but Ginger even made fun of Veronica for getting a Sticky Maple." Dot said. "I can't help you with what's going on in Ginger's mind. Just talk to them. Thank you for listening to me though. No one ever really does that." Kippi said. "Of course." Betty told her smiling.

* * *

"So Dilton was on a early morning mission with his adventure scouts and then found Cheryl sitting on that rock? Come on that cannot be all there is to that story. He must be hiding something." Dot said as they got closer to the spot where Dilton is said to hold his survival practicing hours with his scouts. "Probably that he knows who fired the gun. Or at least heard the shot too." Jug said.

"And why was Archie at the lake on July 4th again?" Dot asked. She had an inkling that Archie was hiding something too. Why in the world would he take his dog all the way out to Sweetwater River when he could just walk around the block with him? That made no sense. "He walked his dog." Jug said.

"At 6 am on the 4th of July where literally everyone else with a dog would be happy if they only had to walk a round around the block and then could go back to sleep? Come on, that's bull." Dot said. "Yeah, well Archie is a morning person." Jug said nonchalantly. He lied. And he wasn't good at it either.

"You're hiding something from me, Jughead Jones. Confess now or be punished by non-stop talking later." Dot demanded. Jug laughed some-what nervously. He seemed to think for a second. "Okay...there is more to the story. But I can't tell you what it is. All I can say is that Archie did not fire the gun on July 4th." Jug said to get Dot off her back on the subject. "Okay, okay. I'll respect the bro-code or whatever. No more questions on that." Dot said as they arrived at the training session.

"And in that moment of hesitation, you're dead. All of you are dead." Dilton Doiley advised his Scouts. Dot didn't know what exactly he was talking about but she was sure it scared the living hell out of the boys. "At ease, Doiley. I'm writing an article for the Blue and Gold. Hoping you can help." Jug said.

Doiley slowly turned his head towards Dot, nodding as if asking who she was silently. "Dorothy Cahill. Official Photographer for the Blue & Gold." Dot said, giving herself a self proclaimed title she'd surely loose once this investigation was done.

"Dismissed. But stay close." Doiley shouted as his Scouts. "Cheryl and Archie both say they heard a gunshot the morning of July 4th, but they don't know who fired." Jug explained. Dot took a few pictures of Doiley and his Scouts. "Sherriff Keller already asked me about this. And don't you need my permission to take these?" Doiley asked, covering his face with his hand.

"Nope. This just goes out in the School anyway. Pretty sure people have seen you there." Dot said. "Anyways, like I told him, my Scouts and I, we didn't hear anything weird." Doiley continued. "Well, did you see anything weird?" Jug asked. "Yeah, anything at all?" Dot reinforced, hoping her scare tactic would help.

"A white-winged crossbill. A long-eared owl. Oh. And Cheryl, sitting by the river, soaking wet." Doiley concluded. Dot glared at him. "This isn't over, Doiley!" she said snapping one more picture of him. "Come on, D. Let's get out of here." Jug lightly pulled her with him. Dot hissed at Doiley one more time. He jumped back a little. "Okay." she said smirking as she turned around and walked away with Jughead.

"Okay. He was lying, we both know that. And if I wasn't mad before I sure as hell am now. I wanna see Doiley's ass rost over an open fire until he screams out the truth!" Dot demanded. "You're scaring me right now." Jug said.

"Good. First one of the most popular boys in this town gets tortured and shot, then a slut-shaming asshole with his posse terrorize a bunch of girls and now Dilton Doiley refuses to tell us the truth about what the fuck he heard on July 4th. This town hides more scandolous secrets than my mom's casserole and I'm not taking it anymore!" Dot declared.

"Let's go to my place to figure out a strategy on what we're gonna do next." Dot offered. "No, I'm good. I think I'll just go home now." Jug said, not wanting to admitt that she did scare him a little right now. "Come on!" Dot said as she pulled him into her car.

* * *

"Hey, Dot! How was your day?" Octavia asked as Dot and Jug entered her house. "Can't talk, mom. Dilton Doiley is going down!" Dot shouted as she stormed off into her living room. "Oh my God! What did you do?" Octavia asked Jughead. "We were talking to the leader of the Adventure Scouts because we're sure he's hiding something and then she demanded that we roast his butt over an open fire until he confesses." Jug explained.

Ms. Cahill sighed, turning around to face Dot. "I told you if you want to find out something you don't do it in a violent way." she said. "I'm not actually going to try and burn the boy alive! I just need to know what he knows." Dot said.

"Dorothy Nora Cahill if Dilton's mom calls me, telling me that you threatened him you're grounded until you go to College. We wanted a fresh start and I don't need that jeopardized by your guy's anthics. If you wanna find out what he knows do it in a non-violent way or not at all." Octavia warned.

"Okay, okay. I might have an idea that completely excludes Doiley for now." Jug proposed. "I'm listening." Dot said. "We just have to follow one of the boys around after Doiley's training session. Ms. Cahill sighed. "You did hear what was wrong about that, right?" she asked. "Yes. I, infact, did hear it." Jug said.

"Okay. You know that techincally as a responisble mother, which I am, I would need to stop you right now. But, since you are doing this for the Blue & Gold AND will promise me not to get violent or criminal in any way. I will allow it." Octavia said, knowing she might regret it. But once her daughter had her mind set on something, there's no stopping her anyway.

"Thank you, mom! No criminal activities - I promise!" Dot said, running out of the house to get back into her car and get the plan in mode. Jug wanted to follow her, when Dot's mom lightly grabbed him by the arm. "Jughead, you seem like a somewhat responsible person. Can you please promise me that you can keep my girl out of trouble?" Octavia asked of him. "Of course, Ms. C. I wouldn't want Dot in jail either." Jug promised. "Thank you. And good luck with Dilton. You get the truth out of that little skunk." Ms. Cahill said. "Will do. Bye, Ms. C." Jug said, walking out with a wink.

* * *

"Is that him?" Dot asked. They had been following, maybe even close to stalking in all honesty, the boy and his dad all around town after practice. "Yeah. Let's go." Jug said, lightly hitting Dot in the arm. "Okay." Dot nodded. "And remember, no violence, no criminal crap. Just talk and persuade him to tell us the truth about Doiley." Jug warned. "I would never hurt a child! How dare you, sir?" she asked offended. "I'm just saying." he said.

Dot roled her eyes. The two got out of the car and waited for the kid's dad to disappear for more than just a second. When he finally stood up and walked to the counter, Dot and Jug slid into the opposite side of the boy's booth. Jug snatched the cherry off of the kid's ice cream sundae.

"What the hell, man?" the kid asked, leaning back a little in confusion. "I saw the way you looked at us. During Grizzly training. You're hiding something." Jug said, now taking the kid's whole sundae as well. "Jug." Dot whined. "I'm hungry. Shhh, let him explain." Jug said.

"It's Scoutmaster Doily. He's lying." the boy admitted. "About what exactly?" Dot asked. "The gunshot. It was him. He was teaching us how to shoot targets." he went on, 'fear' etched in his eyes. "Dilton Doiley shot the gun on July 4th?" Jug asked in disbelieve. "He's a hardcore survivalist. He says if we don't protect ourselves, no one will." the kid finally said.

"Thank you. We'll keep quiet about this meeting. Girl Scout to Boy Scout promise." Dot said. If there was one thing little Dot hated, it was being a Girl Scout. At least the Cookie selling part. Getting chased around by old lady's giant dogs was no fun what-so-ever. "Thanks." the boy said. His dad was just about done paying the check so Dot and Jug bolted out of Pop's back into her car.

"Dilton 'Boy Scout Leader' Doiley shot the damn gun on July 4th? What the hell is wrong with this town's citizens?" Dot asked, slamming the car door shut once she climbed back into the passenger seat. "No, time to think about that. We gotta figure out how we'll make Doiley talk." Jug said.

"That shouldn't be that hard. I think I've cracked him." Dot said. "I never doubted you on that." Jug said. "I just feel so bad for Doiley's little dudes. I mean, he pretty much traumatized them for life at this point." Dot said. "Yeah, well you can tell him that when we'll talk to him." Jug said.

* * *

"Hey, Betty." Kippi said. She had thought about it, worrying about a zero to five percent possibility of getting recognized by anyone in the School had to stop now. This was about stopping Chuck from ruining any other girls lives. "Kippi. What's up?" Betty asked.

It was obvious that she was tired, not just tired in a sleepy way but tired of something in general. Maybe guys like Chuck. Maybe they'd make a break. "Did you find out something that can help you with Chuck?" Kippi asked. Betty nodded. "Yeah. We found their playbook." Betty said, grabbing an open book from next to her.

"Am I in it?" Kippi asked after a few seconds of hesitation. Part of her wanted to know what lies he spread about her, the other part simply wanted to burn this thing so know one can ever lay an eye on it again. Betty just nodded, flipping the pages until landing on the one Kippi was noted in. She hesitantly handed the book over.

Kippi looked at it. Her name was just above Veronica's. A 6,5 was written next to it and the notes 'Too whiny.' and 'Total Freak.' were written beneath her name. The girl's gaze went angry. No, actually - beyond angry. She was furious. "How dare he! How dare this little self-centered, dim-witted and beyond gross pig insult me and every other girl in this book like that?! Enough! I'm going on the record. If you still need my story, use it! Send this bastard to hell!" Kippi yelled. Betty smirked.

"Thank you so much! We have another plan to make Chuck admitt everything. If you want in, I think Veronica and I can open up another spot for you." she said. "I am more than in." Kippi said.

* * *

A day later Dot and Jug were at the Taste of Riverdale event in order to finally get Doiley to confess. They were hiding upstairs, trying to spot Doiley in the crowd. Instead, they found Mrs. Blossom slap Mrs. Cooper right across the face.

"She deserved that." Dot whispered. "I am really concerned about you." Jug said. "What? The woman printed the other woman's dead son's autopsy for everyone in Riverdale to see. Wouldn't you be mad if it was your kid?" Dot asked. Jug nodded. "I guess." he said.

Suddenly Archie crawled in next to the couple just as Josie and the Pussycat's started playing. "Are you sure it was worth sneaking out for some locally-sourced Munster?" Jug asked Archie. "I helped write that song, man." Archie said. The three girls got to the chorus. Dot loved it, Archie and the Girls had some talent.

"Not bad." Jug complimented. "We'd love to stay, but we gotta shake down an evil Adventure Scout. See you." Jug said as he rushed off. "Great job, dude." Dot said, patting Archie on the back as she left. "Thanks." Archie called after her.

"There he is." Dot whispered when she finally caught up to Jug. Doiley was standing. "Hello, Dilton. I talked to one of your Scouts. I know you fired the gun. Which makes you both a liar, and a public menace." Jug said.

"So what if I did? I was doing the Adventure Scouts a favor. Somebody has to teach them how to stand their ground. The way this town is going-" Doiley tried explaining. "Save it for your statement. Which you can make to Sheriff Keller, or to me. I suggest the latter. Blue and Gold offices. Tomorrow." Jug said angrily.

"One more thing, Doiley. If you do not stop traumatizing those boys, I swear to Beyoncé, I will report you so fast you won't even be able to blink. I think the Blue & Gold would love a story exposing some of your secrets, right Jug?" Dot asked.

Jug nodded, grinning devilishly. "We're always looking for a good scandal." he said. "Have I made myself clear?" Dot asked slowly. Doiley nodded. Dot clapped in his face. "Yes, ma'am." he said. "My job here is done." Dot said, smirking as she and Jug left the building.

"That was amazing." Jug beamed. "Don't talk to me, I'm mad at you." Dot said. Jug looked at her confused. "What did I do?" he asked. "You just told Doiley that one of his Scouts gave us information, breaking the Girl Scout promise." Dot explained. Jug sighed.

"Well I told him, so you didn't break it. And besides, you just scared the living hell out of Doiley. He'll never try to teach those boys how to shoot or any of that stuff again." Jug said. Dot sighed. "Fine." she said as the two got back into her car.

* * *

"This, is amazing!" Dot shouted as she stormed into the Blue & Gold office. She held up the most recent edition of the School Newspaper with the Slut-shaming scandal on the cover. Betty smiled tiredly. "Thank you. It was a lot of work." she said.

"And all of it payed it off. You did it, ladys. So, what'll happen to Chuck and his posse now?" Dot asked, dropping down on the nearest chair next to Kippi. "They got cut from the Team and they'll never hurt any girl again. We made sure of that." Betty said, giving Kippi a some-what guilty look.

Dot looked back and forth between the two, confused. "Guys, what happened?" she asked. "Long story. That's for another time." Kippi said. "Doiley should come in soon. Jug told me what you did last night. That was great. You probably saved those boys from a life of Survival Techniques from Dilton Doiley." Betty said.

"If he keeps his promise." Dot said, wary of Doiley's promises. If he lied about shooting a gun the day a student, that later got shot, disappeared who knows what else he'll lie about. "Oh he will. You scared him, like really scared him." Kippi smirked.

"She did not." Doiley said as Jug dragged him into the office. "I was just in a slight state of panic." he added. "Pfff, yeah of course. Then explain the pee stain on your pants." Dot joked. "That was a water stain." Doiley said angrily.

"Okay, okay. Enough. Sit down, Doiley. Talk!" Jug said, pushing the Scout leader forward once more. "If you publish a story saying I fired that gun, my life will be ruined. I'll be banished from the Adventure Scouts, and charged with a misdemeanor. So, what if I have a better story? If I tell you what I know, promise me the gunshot stays between us." Doiley demanded.

"You have our word. As journalists." Betty promised. "I saw something at Sweetwater River. Something nobody else saw. Ms. Grundy's car. By the river's edge. She was there." Doiley explained. Dot looked at him, confused. Not about Doiley's story but more and more confused about why Ms. Grundy was lying about this.

Why everybody in this town seemed to hide something. No matter if it involved Jason Blossom's death or not. Everyone had a secret, something to hide from the public. It was only a matter of time until Dot's or Kippi's secret would surface.


	5. The Last Drive-In

One day, it had been one day since Dilton Doiley confessed to seeing Ms. Grundy's car at Sweetwater River. Dot couldn't get it out of her head. What was the woman hiding from the Police? What could have been so bad that she kept quiet about it? After all this time she had been pondering, Dot finally came to the conclusion that Archie had to be connected to it.

Archie and Miss Grundy were the only people that didn't admitt to being at the lake on the day that Jason Blossom disappeared on. Dot had a strong inkling as to what they were doing at the lake, even it the assumption was scandalous.

Suddenly her phone rang. She looked down, the screen was showing a message from Jughead. "Meet me at Pop's. It's urgent!" it read. Dot sighed. She had to talk to Jug anyway. So she grabbed her jackett and bag from her chair and hurried out the door.

* * *

"Hey." Dot greeted Jug as she threw her keys on the table at Pop's and fell down on the opposite side of him. "Hey." he greeted back, just as in thought as Dot and even a bit angry. "I gotta ask you something. And you have to be honest." Dot said. Jug just nodded. "Go ahead." he said. Dot leaned closer to Jug. "Are Archie and Ms. Grundy dating?" Dot asked. Jug sighed, leaning back as he realized he'd been caught.

"Yeah." he admitted. Dot's eyes widened. "What? Are you for real?" she asked. "Yes, but please just keep quiet about that." Jug asked. "What do you mean? Miss Grundy is a child predator. She might be dangerous!" Dot whispered sternl. "Archie will get over her eventually." he said. "What if he won't, Juggie? I mean what is her deal anyway?" Dot asked. Jug shrugged. "I don't know. I have other problems anyway." Jug said angrily.

"What is it?" Dot asked concerned. "The Drive-In is closing." Jug said. "What?" Dot asked confused. Why would they shut down the Drive-In. It's like a freaking monument of Riverdale. "Why?" she added. He shrugged. "I don't know exactly. Mayor McCoy got an offer she couldn't refuse. I don't know what to do know. The Drive-In was like my second home." Jug said.

"More like your actual home. Where are you gonna live now?" Dot asked. "Not sure." he said with a slight shrug. "You can crash at my place if you want." she offered. Jug shook his head. "I don't mean next to me in my bed, obviously. Like on our couch. I'm sure my mom would allow it." she said. "I don't know..." he said.

"Come on. And if it's just for a night until you figure out where you're gonna go." she said. After a moment of silent thinking Jug spoke up. "Okay. Thank you." he said. "Great." Dot said smiling. She had no other choice but to help people. It was as if it was programmed into her brain. "Hey, remember though, don't tell the others about this." Jug reminded her. Dot nodded. "Of course. I won't tell anyone your secret, if you won't tell anyone mine." she said.

As Dot placed her usual chocolate shake order Betty, Veronica, Kevin and Kippi arrived at Pop's. The heated discussion about the Twilight closing began. About half an hour of Jughead angrily rambling and his friends trying to calm him down began. "The Drive-In closing is just one more nail in the coffin that is Riverdale No, forget Riverdale, in the coffin of the American dream. As the godfather of indie cinema, Quentin Tarantino, likes to say-" Jug started. "Please, God, no more Quentin Tarantino references." Kevin pleaded.

"What? I'm pissed. And not just about losing my job. The Twilight Drive-In should mean something to us. People should be trying to save it." Jug said enraged. "We can. We can try at least." Dot offered.

"In this age of Netflix and VOD, do people really want to watch a movie in a car? I mean, who even goes there?" Veronica asked. And she was right. It was a shame, really. Dot could think of so many great memories with her mom and dad at the Drive-In. Snuggling up to her mom until she fell asleep. Almost jumping into her dad's arms whenever they were watching a scary movie. All of that would go to waste now.

"People who want to buy crack." Kevin said. "And cinephiles, and car enthusiasts. Right, Bets?" Jug asked. The blonde seemed to be thinking, she hadn't even touched her Milkshake ever since Mrs. Lodge first brought the groups order. "Totally." she said, completely absent-minded.

"Anyway, it's closing because the town owns it, but didn't invest in it. So when an anonymous buyer made Mayor McCoy an offer, she couldn't refuse." Jug went on to explain. "Anonymous buyer? What do they have to hide? No one cares." Veronica said amused.

"I do! Also, you guys should all come to closing night. I'm thinking American Graffiti or is that too obvious?" Jug asked. Veronica scrunched up her nose. "I vote for anything starring Audrey Hepburn. Or Cate Blanchett." the raven-haired beauty suggested. "Or The Talented Mr. Ripley." Kevin added. "Dottie?" he asked the brunette. "Any 80's slasher will do just fine with me." she answered.

"Kippi? You've been awfully quiet this whole time." Dot said. "Yeah, I'm just sad the Drive-In is closing. Uhmm, any 80's teen comedy honestly." she said. Dot laughed a little. "Betty, your choices?" Kippi asked. Betty snapped back into reality again. "Everything okay, B?" Veronica asked. Betty nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm just thinking. Um Maybe Rebel Without a Cause?" she finally suggested. "Yes!" Kippi said, snickering.

Mrs. Lodge came to the table with the rest of their order. "Here you go, kids." she said. "Thank you." Dot said. "Thanks, Mom." Veronica added. Mrs. Lodge left the table and soon after Dot heard a little dispute between her and Cheryl. "This girl." Dot sighed annoyed. And the night was far from over as Archie and his dad walked into Pop's with Miss Grundy at their side.

"Now, that's an odd combo of people." Kevin noted. "I'll be right back." Betty said. Jug tried stopping her as Betty stood up. "No, Betty. No. Don't-" he pleaded. But Betty had her mind set on talking to Archie and she wouldn't let her friends stop her now. "Wait, what's happening?" Kevin asked confused. "Bad things, Kev. Very bad things." Dot said.

Soon after Betty and Archie went outside. A discussion between the two started. "What's happening out there? Do we know? Is it about me?" Veronica asked. "I have a strong inkling, and no. Also, I'd let it go." Jug said.

"Yes, but you're you, and I'm me. You do you, girl, I'll be back." V said, slipping out of the booth and outside to join Betty and Archie. "What was it like before she got here? I honestly cannot remember." Kevin sighed. Kippi laughed a little. Jug rolled his eyes, taking more food as he continued watching the three argument outside.

"Don't worry, Juggie. Betty would never sell him out. You know that." Dot whispered. "We'll see." Jug said. The argument ended. Mrs. Cooper picked up Betty and Veronica seemed to be leaving too. Archie went back inside to his dad and Ms. Grundy. "Well this sure has been an eventfull night." Kippi said.

* * *

The next day in school, Dot and Kippi were handing out flyers for the Last Drive-In. "Wanna ride-along with me on closing night?" Dot asked Kippi. The blonde nodded. "Sure, that would be great." she smiled. "Great. Can't wait." Dot said as she handed another flyer to a student passing them by.

"So? How's life been in Kansas? What was your Step-Dad like?" Kippi asked. Dot sighed. "It was just fine. And he was great actually. I just really miss my dad." Dot said. Kippi nodded. "You could just visit him." she said shrugging.

Dot seemed to think for a second. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if he still lives in Riverdale. We haven't talked in a while." she said. "I'm sure he would have at least told you if he hadmoved away." Kippi said. "Yeah. I'll think about it." Dot said a little absent-minded.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but the Twilight Drive-In?" Mayor McCoy asked Dot and Jug. "It's a blight that's become a cesspool, and a hangout for criminals and transients, and the deal's done. Andrews Construction is scheduled to demolish the lot on Monday." she explained.

The two had thought long and wide what to do. After Dot proposed chaining herself to the Drive-In the two realized it was hopeless. They would just have to talk to Mayor McCoy and so here they were, talking to th most powerful lady in all Riverdale.

Jughead thought for a second. He realized the conversation would most likely end with the Mayor giving them a 'heartfelt apology' and then her secretary would walk in and ask the duo to leave the building.

"Mayor McCoy, when I was a kid, my family and I would go to the drive-in all the time." he reminisced. "We couldn't afford tickets for everyone, so my sister Jellybean and I would hide in the trunk until we parked. We'd sneak out." he went on. Jug chuckled lightly. "It's like my home." he said.

"And when I was young this place was the only thing that seemed to stop my parents from fighting. That's where they met and that's where I'd like to go with husband and children someday." Dot added, maybe it was a little too sweet. But it was the truth nevertheless. Mayor McCoy followed both their story's with a warm smile, a genuine smile.

"Those were two very sweet sentiments, Mr. Jones and Ms. Cahill. But the future of Riverdale is at stake." she concluded. Dot sighed. The woman seemed to feel bad, a sorroful look was plastered on her face. She seemed to want to help, but it was as if she really just couldn't. "Thank you anyway, Mayor McCoy." Dot said, standing up to shake the woman's hand. "You're welcome and again, I'm really sorry." she said, shaking Dot's hand.

* * *

"Mayor McCoy says you won the contract to tear down the drive-in." Jug said to Mr. Andrews. The next and honestly last option they had was to ask Mr. Andrews not to demolish the Drive-In. It was a long shot and Dot doubted it would work, but something had to be done.

"I did. Look, I'm sorry, kids. I know how much you love the Twilight, and so do I-" Mr. Andrews tried explaining. "Mr. Andrews, just give us one week to track down the person who bought the land, and convince them not to demolish a holy house of cinema." Jug pleaded. "Yes, please. Is that too much to ask for?" Dot added.

"It's a big contract for me, you two, and for my guys. Whatever they build in the place of the drive-in could mean more jobs." Mr. Andrews went on. "Yeah, in what? Some hypothetical future?" Jug asked enraged. "Easy there, Juggie." Dot warned.

The boy's lips went thin for a second, as if he was thinking about his next move. "You put one Jones out of work, why don't you put out another, huh?" he finally asked. Dot now felt wrong being here, it seemed as if Jug was revealing some family secrets he didn't want her to know.

"Jug, your dad was taking materials from one of our job sites. I had to let him go." Mr. Andrews said. "I had to let him go." he added. "Right. You did what you had to do, like you're doing here now." Jug said. He scoffed. "Later." he added, rushing out the door. "Jug." Mr. Andrews tried. "I better follow him. Bye Mr. Andrews." Dot said, running after Jug.

"Wait." she said, grabbing him by the shoulder. He turned back around, the anger still clearly showing in his face. "We're screwed. This is it." he said. "It really is ending, huh?" Dot asked. Jug nodded somewhat sadly. "Come on." Dot said, trying to go for a hug. "I'm not a hugger." Jug said, stepping back a little.

"Me neither. But this seems like a hugging moment." she said, now pulling him close to her. "How long do we do this again?" Jug asked when it got awkward after a few seconds. "I think we can stop now." Dot said laughing a little. "Come on. Let's go to my place. We can watch a movie on my pre-historic DVD Player." she joked as they got into her car. "Dibs on picking the movie." he said. "Dang it." she made, slamming her car door shut.

* * *

"I can't believe this beautiful peace of Riverdale is closing down." Kippi said in the passenger of Dot's car. The movie had started about half an hour ago. "Me neither. We tried so hard too. No one ever listens to the teenagers." Dot sighed. "Unfortunately." Kippi said, taking a bite off of her Red Vine. "How's Jug dealing with this?" she added. "Not well, obviously. I actually wanted to check on him a little later." Dot said.

Kippi smirked. "You like him?" she asked. "As a friend, Kippi. I'm not ready for a relationship. Far from ready, actually." Dot said. She almost choked on her setences. It was just too much to bear. Trying to forcefully push herself into a relationship with any guy right now would only lead to chaos. It truly was a waiting game. Kippi nodded. "I get it." she said.

"Is your mom here somewhere?" she added. "Yeah, she's around. She was outraged when I told her the Drive-In was closing. She wouldn't miss it for the world." Dot explained. "My gran is around too. Hell, the Drive-In was around when she was young. Isn't that crazy?" Kippi asked. Dot laughed.

"Totally." she said. She shook her empty cup in an overly-dramatic gesture. "I gotta get something to drink before I die from dehydration." she said in jokingly shallow breaths. Kippi laughed. "I'm out too." she said. "I'll handle it. This is a man's job." Dot said laughing.

She went out of the car and made a quick stop on her way to the confession stand. She knocked on the door to Jughead's booth. He opened the door a few seconds later. "Hey." he greeted. "Hey, I just wanted to know how you're do-" Dot started, when she was suddenly interrupted by a can flying at her head. "Ouch!" she yelled angrily. "Sorry. I meant to throw it into the dumpster!" a man in a leather jackett yelled from far away.

Dot was about to yell back when Jug pulled her into his booth. "Did that guy seriously just throw a can at my head?" Dot asked outraged. "Let it go. That was a Southside Serpent. You don't wanna mess with those guys." Jug warned. Dot sighed annoyed, sitting down on Jug's make-shift bed as he sat back in front of the projector.

Dot looked around a little. "So this is how you live?" she asked. "It works out just fine." Jug told her. "Yeah but, this is no way to live for a teenager." Dot said. Jug sighed. "We've talked about this. And now the Drive-In is closing anyway." he said. "Yeah. You still wanna come by and sleep over tomorrow?" Dot asked. Jug nodded.

"If it's okay with your mom." he said. Dot laughed. "Of course. She was this close to turning our guest room into a new bedroom for you. You can thank me for stopping her before she actually ended up doing that." she said. Jug laughed a little. Probably for the first time in days. Dot spent a few more minutes with him before realizing that Kippi was still waiting for her drink.

She said good-bye to Jughead and quickly grabbed two drinks at the confession stand and rushed back to her car. "Here you go." Dot said, handing Kippi her coke. "Thanks. I thought you got lost." Kippi chuckled. "Oh please. I know this place better than my own house." Dot laughed.

"I think all of this really settled in now and I'm beginning to realize that I hate change more and more now. I kinda wanna cry right now." Dot said, laughing at how unbelievably sentimental she just sounded. "You can do that if you want. I'm not gonna laugh at you. I've been holding back my tears ever since we got here." Kippi admitted. Dot laughed sadly, her head falling onto Kippi's shoulder. "Let's just enjoy this last one. Make this night last forever." she said.

* * *

The night ended uneventful, only a bunch of other interruptions by the Southside Serpents and Dot eventually catching Kevin making out with one of them. So yeah, pretty low ending for the night.

The saturday morning after the last drive-in was just as uneventful. Dot and her mom were sitting at breakfast when Dot thought back to the conversation she was having with Kippi while handing out the flyers a few days ago.

"Mom..." Dot finally said. "Mmmh." Ms. Cahill hummed. A short moment of silence. Ms. Cahill looked at her daughter. "What is it, honey?" she asked. "I wanna see dad." Dot said.


	6. The Big Breakdown

"Mom! You can't keep avoiding me on this. What is so bad about me wanting to visit dad?" Dot asked annoyed. Her mom had been avoiding talking about Dot's dad ever since she first asked on Saturday. It was Monday now and Dot was growing agitated with her mother. She didn't understand what was so bad about it.

"Dorothy, there are certain reasons why you can't visit your father. You just have to trust me on this." Ms. Cahill pleaded. Dot shook her head. "What could have been so bad? What terrible thing did dad do when you two called it quits that I can't visit him now?" she asked confused.

"Did he hit you? Or cheat? What did he do?" she added. Her mom's lips formed into a thin line. "I don't have time to talk about this anymore. I gotta get to work and you're late for school. So get going, Dot. We'll talk about this tonight." she said. Dot angrily grabbed her bag and keys and rushed out of the house.

* * *

"And now she won't tell me why I can't see him. I don't understand her at all." Dot explained to Kippi. They were walking down the hall to the Blue & Gold office. Dot wanted to get her mind off of this topic at first, but she had to tell someone about this. "Me neither. Your dad always seemed so nice back in the day. I can't imagine that he did anything so bad that your mom won't let you see him." Kippi said confused.

"Yeah, I'm at a loss right now." Dot sighed as Valerie's brother Trev walked out of the office. "Hey Trev." Kippi greeted. He smiled. "Hi Kip." he said as he left. "What was he doing here?" Dot asked, entering the room where Betty, Jug and Kevin were talking about what just happened with Trev.

"You just called it a date. You literally said, 'It's a date.'" Jug told Betty. "That's just my cover. Really, it's an intelligence gathering mission." Betty tried convincing the group. "What is an 'inteligence gathering mission'?" Kippi asked slightly laughing at their friends anthics.

"Betty's going on a date with Trev but she's living in denial about calling it a date so she covers it up as an 'inteligence gathering mission'." Kev said with air quites on the last part. "It's not a date, Kevin." Betty repeated sighing.

"We should focus on the one thing we have access to that your dad doesn't. The kids at Riverdale High. You know, maybe Trev knows something about Jason he didn't think was important." Betty explained.

Sighing, the blonde's eyes went over to Dot. "You seem uncharacteristically down? What's wrong?" she asked her friend. "My mom won't let me see my dad and I don't know why." Dot sighed back. Betty sat down next to her.

"Just ask her again. Let her know that this is important to you. She'll come around." Betty sugested, offering a warm smile. Dot smiled back. "Okay. Thank you, Betty." she nodded.

* * *

"Betty, you're positively radiating Nicholas Sparks. Tell me everything about this Trev." Veronica demanded as the group walked walked to the bleachers to eat their lunch. "Oh, there's nothing to tell. Just one of Betty's sources, there's nothing romantic in the offing." Kevin said, almost offended. "Why is everything weird here? Why can't a date just be a date?" V asked as they sat down next to Archie. Dot snagged a frie from Veronica.

"What about you, Archie? How's life in a PG world?" Veronica continued. "PG. Post-Grundy." she explained when she realized no one got her joke. "What, too soon?" she asked, despite knowing she was right. Apparently when most of the town was at the Drive-In on Friday, Mrs. Cooper found out about Archie's and Ms. Grundy's affair and made her leave town.

Archie ignored the comment. "Coach Clayton says I have a shot at being varsity captain. So I'm not thinking about anything else right now." he explained. "And you're back to being boring." Veronica said snippishly. "Are you, maybe, throwing yourself into football as a way to avoid your feelings." Betty asked concerned. "I'm not avoiding anything, Betty, I'm trying to get my life back on track." the ginger said.

Valerie sat down next to the Archie. "I can help with that. I know Ms. Grundy was tutoring you." she said. "Understatement of the year." Veronica quietly said. Dot lightly bumbed her arm. V laughed out loud, stuffing another frie in her mouth. "But there's this amazing songwriter from New York, who's an adjunct at Carson College? Incredible mentor. He does some coaching on the side and I told him about you. You wanna meet him?" Valerie asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'd love to, but football-" Archie tried telling her. Dot sighed annoyed. "No, Archie can. And he will." Betty demanded, lightly hitting Archie in the Arm. "Call him if you want, but do it soon. His spots fill up fast." Val said, stuffing a note in his pocket. "Thank you, Val." Archie said as the girl left the group. "Hey, now you have zero excuse for avoiding music." Betty said.

"Sorry to interrupt Sad Breakfast Club, but I'm here to formally invite you to Jason's memorial at Thornhill this weekend." Cheryl chimed in, handing out invitations to the group. She stopped before handing one out to Veronica and Kippi. "To my surprise and chagrin, mother added you to the guest-list." she told them both, with an almost disgusted look.

"In case you're tempted to steal our silver candlesticks, don't. We'll be searching bags." she informed Veronica. The raven-haired girl roled her eyes. "And you, I was against inviting the daughter of a crazy murdering bitch. But somehow you were invited anyway." Cheryl said, handing her an envelope. "Cheryl!" Betty warned. "What?" the red-head asked nonchalantly before walking off again.

Kippi sighed annoyed. "What was Cheryl talking about?" Veronica asked confused. Kippi nervously licked her lips. "I don't know." she lied, shaking her head. "I think you might be lying." Veronica said. "Veronica, stop." Archie said. "Please. We don't need to discuss this right now." Kevin added. The group was trying to keep the peace. Veronica didn't know Kippi's situation and the others didn't want to force her to admitt anyhing she didn't want to.

"Why not? Just tell me what's going on." Veronica pressed further. Kippi collected her things. "I don't need this. I don't need to tell you anything from my past. I don't need to go to Jason fucking Blossom's funeral. I never liked that son of a bitch, why would I go to his damn funeral?!" Kippi yelled angrily as she stormed off.

Veronica grabbed her bag and ran off after her. "Ronnie, wait! Just leave it." Betty pleaded. "No! I'm talking to her. This ends now." V declared rushing after Kippi. Veronica grabbed the blondes shoulder when she caught up to her.

"Stop! Tell me what's going on, Kippi. What could be so terrible that you want to keep it a secret so bad?" Veronica asked. Kippi thought for a second. "Cheryl just said it. And I'm sure once you go back to the others they'll tell you long and wide about everything that happened." she said, then walked off.

Veronica went back to her friends. "Okay, tell me." she demanded, sitting down. Betty sighed. "It's a touchy subject. Truth be told, Jason's murder wasn't the only terrible one that happened here." she said. "Kippi was living with her Parents and Brother at the time. When she was six her family got a nanny that would take care of her and do some stuff around the house." Dot added.

"Her name was Eva and one day she just disappeared into thin air." Kevin said. "Yeah and that was completely out of character for her. At least back then that's what her family said." Archie continued. "And then over time, Kippi's dad and brother vanished while she was visiting her grandma." Jug added.

Veronica followed the story, she needed to know what happened. "And then?" V asked. "Turns out, her mom killed Eva. Her dad helped, but only because she knew how to control him. She sent Kippi to her grandmother when she realized that her brother Shane was close to going to the police to tell on them. She ordered her husband to kill him. He declined. She killed him and then Shane." Jug explained.

"That's horrifying." Veronica admitted. "Yeah. So maybe now you see why Kippi doesn't want everyone to know. Her and her gran were labeled as the rest of the crazy clan and moved away at some point. And she was just so relieved that no one seems to remember her." Dot explained. Veronica nodded. "I need to talk to Cheryl. And then Kippi. See you later." V said.

* * *

"So now, that we are here. I've been waiting all day, you're off work and both of our minds are clear. Please, tell me why I can't see dad." Dot told her mom. Both were sitting by the kitchen table. Dot had been trying to make her mom talk for days now and she couldn't take the secrecy anymore.

"Dot, I spoke to your father earlier, he doesn't want to see you right now either." Octavia said with a heavy heart. It pained her to see her daughter so sad and feeling left alone by her dad, but she couldn't bear to tell her what he had done.

"What?" Dot asked, tears in her eyes. She couldn't understand what was wrong. Why the whole world was basically turning inside out for her right now. "Why not? Does he hate me?" she asked as a tear fell down her face.

"No, no, no. Baby, don't you ever think that your father hates you for any reason. It's just that...after our divorce your dad made some bad choices." Octavia said. "Let's leave it at that for now." she added, wiping the tear from her daughters cheek.

"No! Mom, I'm sick and tired of everyone keeping secrets. I don't understand why you can't just tell me what's going on?!" Dot asked. Octavia herself had tears in her eyes at that point. "Because, Dorothy. That's just how it is. We are trying to protect you. Your father doesn't want you knowing where he is and what he did. And that's the end of this discussion!" Octavia yelled. "I hate you so much right now!" Dot yelled back, grabbing her back and keys.

"Where are you going?!" Octavia asked. "Out!" Dot yelled, opening the door. "No! Dorothy, stay here. Don't you dare leave this house right now!" her mom yelled as Dot slammed the door shut.

* * *

When the brunette pulled into the parking lot of Pop's she feelt a sense of home coming from the exterior. With the Twilight gone, this was the only hiding spot she had left. As she walked into the building, she saw the all-too-familiar crown shaped beanie poking out from behind Jughead's laptop screen. Dot took a seat on the opposite side of the booth. "Hey." she sighed, dropping her bag next to her.

"What's going on?" Jug asked, still typing away on his computer. "I had a fight with my mom." Dot said. Jug shut his laptop so he could listen to her. "Hey, Pop! One chocolate shake please!" he yelled at the older man behind the register. "Coming right up!" he yelled back. Dot smiled. "Thanks." she said.

Jug nodded. "So, tell me what happened." Jug said. "I want to visit my dad. And my mom refused to let me. She even told me that my dad didn't want to see me either. She said he did some bad stuff. I don't know what to do anymore." Dot explained, sighing.

"Have you checked the internet yet?" Jug asked. Dot raised an eyebrow. "I mean, if your mom is telling you the truth and he did some bad stuff maybe it's somewhere on the internet." Jug offered. Dot nodded. "Maybe. Let's check." Dot said. Jug nodded, opening his laptop back up.

"What's your dad's name?" Jug asked. "Andreas Cahill." Dot answered. Jug typed away and a few seconds later his expression turned dark. "What is it?" Dot asked, noticing his face change.

"Nothing. I can't find him on here." he lied. Dot looked at him, annoyed and angry at the same time. She sighed. "Jug, everybody lies. Please don't do the same. You're the only one I can trust right now." she pleaded.

Jug sighed. "You won't like what you see. Do you think you can handle it?" Jug asked. Dot nodded. "Yes. Now show me." she demanded. Jug turned the laptop so it was facing her. The brunette's eyes quickly moved left and right as she was reading through the article. She covered her hand with her mouth.

"42-year-old Andreas Cahill was drunk driving when he hit 21-year-old College student Lindsey Shaw. Shaw died in the hospital. Cahill is awaiting trial." she quietly read. "My dad killed a girl because he was drunk driving?" Dot asked appalled. "I can understand him and your mom now. I'm guessing they were just trying to keep this from you." Jug said.

"Well they shouldn't have. Because I could have taken it." Dot said angrily as she stood up. She pulled some money out of her purse and put it on the table. "My treat." she said as she stormed off. "Dot, wait!" Jug yelled, collecting his things. He rushed out after her.

Dot was climbing into the passenger seat of her car, angrily throwing her door shut. Jug climbed in next to her. "Go home, Jug." Dot said. "No. Not when you're this upset. I'm scared you're gonna do something crazy and get yourself or others killed." Jug said. "So what? Just leave it. You've known me for like two weeks now. What do you care?" she asked still basically radiating anger.

"You sat down at my booth on your first night here. You engaged in a conversation with me. Together we shook down an evil Adventure Scout and made it throught the town shutting down the Drive-In. Which means, if you like it or not, we're somewhat friends now.

Friends help each other out. So where are you gonna go now?" he asked. The young girl couldn't contain her emotions anymore, she started sobbing. "Stop crying and give an answer." he demanded. "Home. I wanna go home." Dot said sobbing. "Then let's go." Jug said.

* * *

"When you said you wanted to go home, this wasn't what I expected." Jug said, getting out of the car. "I need to be here right now. This used to be my castle, one of my refuges. I need this, now more than ever." she said, looking up at the abandoned house.

It almost made her want to cry. The house looked so decrepit in the moonlight. The color from the walls had probably faded years ago. The grass in the front yard almost reached Dot's hips and a few windows were smashed in.

"Let's go." Dot said, walking up the creaky steps. "Dot, wait! We can't just go in there. That's trespassing. We could get in trouble." Jug whispered. "If anyone sees us maybe. There's only like two other houses that have people living in it." Dot whispered back as she rattled the door knob. "It's not budging!" Dot whispered sternly.

"Let's go around the back. Some window or something has to be open." she added, jumping down the stairs to run around to the back. "Dot! Oh my God, I feel like I'm in the middle of some future horror story on Reddit right now!" Jug said. "Calm down. Usually you're so adventorous. What happened with that?" Dot asked as they arrived at the back door.

Jug jumped back a little when he stepped on a twig on the ground. "In case you forgot, there's still a killer on the loose and I don't want to be the next one that ends up dead." Jug said. Dot opened the door. "Bingo." she made with a smirk.

"And come on. We both know that this wasn't some crazy serial killer. This was some crazy vendetta against Jason and the entire Blossom clan." Dot said as she entered the house. The inside looked even worse than the entire exterior combined.

It was completely abandoned, the tapestry was peeling off of the walls. It smelled of death and moths. And on the floor was dirt and parts of furniture that broke when the town probably cleared out the place after Dot's dad was arrested. "What happened to this place?" Dot asked, sitting down against the wall in the living room.

"Time." Jug answered as he sat down next to her. "Well she is one giant bitch." Dot said. Jug laughed under his breath. "Yeah." he said, looking around. "It's nice here. I bet it looks even better when it's not vacant." he added.

Dot nodded smiling. "I miss this place." she said. "Why didn't you move back in here?" Jug asked. "Too many memories, I guess." Dot said shrugging. Jug nodded.

The two shrieked up when they heard the police sirens followed by the blue and red lights outside. "Crap. It's Sheriff Keller. We're screwed." Jug said as they scrambled back up on their feet.

They heard the car door slam and Sheriff Keller and a Deputy move onto the house. "What now?" Dot panicked. "You got us into this mess. So come up with something!" Jug demanded.

Sheriff Keller and the Deputy walked inside the house. "This is Sheriff Keller! We were called about two kids sneaking around the house! We know you're here. There's no reason to hide now." he announced, clearly aware about the duo in the house. Dot nudged Jug, tilting her head towards the Sheriff. "Let's go." she mumbled. Jug sighed, but followed her anyway.

"We're sorry, Sheriff. We didn't mean to trash this place or anything." Dot said, defending herself. Sheriff Keller sighed. "Dorothy. It's you." he said. "Surprise." she made. Sheriff Keller's glare stayed stern. "Come on. We'll get you to the station and call your parents." Keller said, guiding the two out of the house.

* * *

"Dorothy! Thank god! I was so worried." Octavia yelled, embracing her daughter in a hug. "Hey mom." Dot said coldly. "We'll talk about this when we're home." Octavia warned.

"Don't worry, Octavia. They won't be charged. It was the first time something like this has happened and since it was your old house I'm guessing she just wanted to pay a visit. She can go home." Sheriff Keller said.

"Thank you, Tom." Ms. Cahill said relieved. "What about him?" she asked, pointing to Jughead sitting nearby on one of the chairs in the waiting room. "We called his father, but couldn't reach him. I'm guessing he's not coming. You know what FP is like." Keller said. Octavia nodded. She knew too well.

"Jughead, come on. We're leaving!" Octavia called out. "It's okay. I can just go back to my friends house." Jug said. "Honey, it's almost one a.m., I'm sure whoever you're staying with is asleep by now. So come on, because you both have to go to school tomorrow." Octavia demanded. Jug only reluctantly got up and followed both women out.

* * *

"Kippi, Kippi wait up." Veronica said the next day, trying to keep up with her friend. "What is it, Veronica?" Kippi asked annoyed. "I know what happened now and I need to talk to you." Veronica demanded, grabbing Kippi by the arm to stop her. The blonde sighed. "I'm listening." she said after a few seconds of silence. V breathed out relived. Her next move was cruical. She didn't want to upset Kippi or loose her as a friend.

"Okay, so what happened to you was terrible. There's no doubt about that. But as far as I'm concerned you've come a long way and have somewhat gotten over it. Or you've dealt with it at least. And I admire that about you, because I don't know if I could've done that at such a young age. You know? Stand back up, work my way through and stand out as a survivor." Veronica explained.

Kippi laughed under her breath. "Survivor? My mom sent me away before killing the rest of my family. That's not survival. That's the smallest bit of heart left inside a monster." the blonde said. "No, no it's not. Because before you brother and father Eva got killed and you survived that. And look at you know, look at what a strong and stunning young woman you became. That's something nobody can take from you. Not Cheryl, not your mother or anyone else in this town." Veronica said angrily.

"Now you don't have to show up at the funeral tomorrow. But if you don't, that'll just prove Cheryl that she can just step all over you anytime she wants." she added. "It's your choice." she said before leaving the girl to herself.

The bell rung and students were rushing out of their classrooms. Kippi looked around to see if she could find the red-head she was looking for. Maybe Veronica was right. Kippi would need to resolve these issues with Cheryl. Even if the other girl would be resistent. Surely enough, Cheryl came around the corner a few seconds later. Kippi ran up to her.

"Hey, Cheryl. I need to talk to you." Kippi said. The other girl roled her eyes, but didn't walk away either. She sighed. "What is it?" she asked. "Why are you like this towards me?" Kippi asked, getting to the point. "What are you talking about?" Cheryl asked back, playing dumb. "Cheryl, cut the crap. I am not my mother. And you know that." the blonde said semi-angrily.

Cheryl pursed her lips, as if wanting to say something. But seemed to think about saying something else instead. "I mean, what do you expect. Your mother was a crazy killer. You come back and my brother gets killed. That's a little suspicious, don't you think?" she finally asked.

"Cheryl, try to remember that I've lost my brother too. And just like you and Jason, we were inseperable. I would never do that to anyone else. You know, I went to Eva's family recently. To try and apologize, I guess. They weren't mad at me, but they also couldn't look me in the eyes. I saw the pain in her mothers face and I would never do that to anyone else. Besides, you and your brother did nothing to me last year that would make me hate him so much that I'd want to kill him." Kippi explained sadly.

Cheryl nodded. "I guess, that's true. And I am sorry for you. I was honestly really heartbroken when I found out what happened to you and your family back then, actually. I think everyone was." she said.

Kippi nodded, she extended her hands. "So? Classmates that don't want to tear each other apart?" she asked. Cheryl smiled a bit. "Okay." she said, shaking the other girl's hand. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow." Kippi said amiling back.

* * *

"I'm glad you're not leaving me alone with this." Kippi told Dot. Dot had offered to take Kippi to the funeral. Dot smiled. "Of course." she said. "Didn't Jug and Betty want to come with us?" Kippi asked. "Yeah. We're picking them up from her house." Dot informed her. Kippi nodded.

"And you guys really want to sneak into Jason's room?" Dot asked. The plan was kinda crazy, especially with a house full of people and the Blossom's themselves there. But they had made no breaks so far and it seemed to be getting nowhere. So drastic measures had to be taken.

Kippi nodded. "Yup. And you really don't want to come with us?" the blonde asked. Her friend shook her head. "Nah. I think three people are already a little too much. Besides, my mind is still totally elsewhere right now." the brunette sighed. Kippi gave her an understanding nod. Jug had told Betty about Dot's dad and Betty had told her. "Have you talked to your mom yet?" she asked.

Dot shook her head. "No. After she picked up Jug and me from the station I went straight to my room. That was Monday night, now it's Saturday and I'm thinking I should maybe talk to her. But then again I'm too stubborn to make the first move." she explained. The girl looked down on her watch, it was getting late. She started her car and took off for Betty's house.

Kippi sighed. "Just talk to her. And ask her if you can visit your dad. That's the best advice I can give you right now. I think you just need to talk this trough." she said. Dot nodded, she wanted to ignore her mother some more. But she also realized that she was just trying to keep her from heartbreak. Dot wished she would've just listened to her and stayed out of it.

* * *

Jason's memorial was beginning in a few seconds. Dot felt out of place here. She barely knew him in her childhood days and obviously had never met him recently. From what she heard, he was a scumbag that she would've steered clear away from.

She felt weird in general. The last time Dot was at a funeral it was the one of her boyfriend. And that was heartbreaking and awkward at the same time.

She looked around, the brunette was sitting next to Kippi and the rest of the Blue & Gold Squad. She could see her mother talking to Mrs. Lodge on the opposite side of them.

Things started getting crazy when the memorial started. The Blossom's were getting ready to go on stage and say a few words as expected, when suddenly everyone's attention turned to an oncoming Cheryl.

Oddly enough, the girl was wearing a white dress with gloves and just in general nothing you'd wear to a funeral. Dot was confused, yet totally amazed at the boldness of the girl. "Oh, my God." Veronica made infront of Dot. She was just as stunned as everyone else who was still murmuring in surprise. "Yes." Kevin whispered exited. The boy loved a good drama.

The red-head walked straight trough her parents onto the stage. Her parents were angry, beyond angry actually. But Mr. Blossom pulled his wife onto a nearby chair anyway. "Welcome to Thornhill. Thank you all for coming. If you'll kindly take your seats. I'd like to start the memorial with a few words about Jason." Cheryl announced.

People around sat down. Mrs. Blossom tried standing up to stop her daughter. Her husband pulled her back down. The mothers eyes met with Veronica's. "You are only going to make things worse." the raven-haired girl whispered. Mrs. Blossom turned back around.

"The last time I saw Jason, I was wearing this dress." Cheryl started. "I know it's impossible. But I swear, when I put it on, it It feels like he's in the room with me." she said, staring off onto the picture next to to her brother's caskett. "Even though we were twins, I used to demand I have my own birthday party." the red-head explained, probably gone in her own memories.

"Until one year, out of the blue, Jason convinced me we had to combine them into one. It wasn't until years later, I found out why. It was because no one wanted to come to mine." Cheryl explained close to tears. "And Jason didn't want me to know. He protected me. Every single day. I wish, that day at the river, I had protected him." she continued, now sobbing. Cheryl turned around, hands on the caskett. "I'm so sorry, Jay-Jay. We failed you. All of us." she sobbed as Veronica stood up and guided her to a nearby chair.

Dot was heartbroken. She felt as if she had just witnessed this strong and badass girl break down into a million pieces. Sure, she was a bitch, but no one deserved something like this. Mrs. Blossom walked onto the stage. "I think we'll adjourn now to the Winter Salon for a light supper." she said with a fake smile.

Probably trying to do some damage control. People went their sperate ways and Octavia and Mrs. Lodge walked off, still in conversation. Dot looked after her, deciding if she should go talk to her now. Her friends made the desicion easy on her, pushing her off her chair. "Go talk to her." Jug pressed. "It's time." Kippi added. Kev nodded. "You can do this." Betty finally said, offering a warm smile.

Dot nodded, walking over to the two women talking. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lodge. But could I talk to my mother real quick?" the young girl asked. Mrs. Lodge smiled. "Of course, honey." she said, walking off to greet and incoming Mr. Andrews.

"Dottie, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your dad. It was just-" Ms. Cahill said, close to tears. Dot hugged her mom tightly. "I know. You wanted to protect me. Both of you. I get it now." she said, trying to keep it together. She had realized that this was not just hard on herself.

Her mom had to keep this a secret all these years, it probably killed her. She had to be there for her now. It was time to stop playing childish games. "Thank you, baby. And don't worry, you're father doesn't hate you. He is just ashamed. He'll come around eventually." Ms. Cahill explained. Dot nodded. "I can wait. If he needs time, then that's what he'll get." she said. Her mom nodded, wiping a tear away.

She looked over her daughters shoulder, seeing her group of friends watch them. She smiled lightly. "Now, go back to your friends. I'll get back to mine." Ms. Cahill said. Dot nodded, smiling. "Okay. I'll see you later." she said.

"That looked like it went okay." Kevin said as Dot sat down. Jug, Betty and Kippi had snuk off into Jason's room by now. Dot nodded. "It went great." she said smiling. Kev put his hands on hers. "Good job." he said, smiling back at her.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Betty came rushing down the stairs. She looked upset and immediatly dragged her dad out of the house without another word to her friends. Kippi went off with Kevin. Veronica was still with Cheryl. And Archie and Valerie left together as well.

"Guess that leaves us two. Want me to take you home?" Dot asked Jug. He nodded. "Not home though. Let's go to Pop's." he said. Dot smiled. That was the greatest idea she'd heard all day. "I'm down with that." she said.

"I'm guessing you and your mom made up?" Jug asked as they walked to the parking lot. "Mmmh." she hummed happily. "It wasn't her fault. I think the funeral was getting to me. This was the first I had ever since..." she trailed off. Jug nodded. "I get it." he said silently.

"Yeah, the last one didn't go to well. People were either angry at or they sympathised with me. I guess I was just stressed out. And finding out that your dad drunkenly hit a girl with his car and killed her probably doesn't take the weight off of that. I think I might be going crazy." the brunette explained, shaking her head. The situation seemed to get awkward, at least that's what Dot was convinced of.

"I'm sorry. I know you're probably annoyed with this-" she said, trying to end the awkwardness. "No. It's okay. We're friends, remember?" Jug asked. Dot nodded. "Maybe you just need to stop shoving all of your problems into the back of your head. Stop avoiding what happened with your boyfriend. Talk about it, tell someone else what you feel." he suggested as they climbed into the car.

Dot tried to buckle up her seatbelt. She stopped and sighed. "I'm miserable." she admitted. "I'm not over anything. I feel like screaming and crying at the same time. I want to kill those guys. I want my mother to stop avoiding this and just talk to me. And-" she angrily rambled, choking up on her last sentence.

"And I want him back." she said, sobbing. She put her head against the window. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep holding this back and pretend like nothing ever happened and like he didn't suffer when he died. And like this wasn't all my fault. All of it." she said as tears streamed down her face, smudging her mascara all over her face.

"Hey, that wasn't your fault." Jug said, looking at her. She shook her head. "It was. I wanted to go to that damn party. And that set off this chain reaction of things. He died, I pretended like nothing happened, my mom couldn't stop crying, my step-dad couldn't take it anymore, we had to move here, I just had to know where my dad was and then I got us both arrested." she said, calming down a little.

"Are you done? Did you get it all out of your system?" Jug asked after watching her for a few seconds. She looked up, wiping the tears out of her face. She nodded. "I think so." she said with a raspy voice. Jug smiled lightly.

"Good. Now, none of that was your fault. I won't repeat that again. You need help. Professional help. Someone to talk to that is not close to you." he told her. "You look like a Panda, by the way." he added grinning. Dot looked in the rearview mirror. "Oh god." she said laughing. She let her head fall back into the seat. Both started laughing.

"Thank you." Dot said when they finally calmed down. "You're welcome." Jug said. "So, Pop's?" he asked, smiling. "Pop's." Dot said. This was what she needed. Jug knew what to say when everyone else walked around on eggshells around her. It looked like she needed to have another serious talk with her mom.

* * *

The rest of the weekend went by slower. "So? How did everything with your mom go?" Jug asked. The group of four was sitting in the Blue & Gold office. "Okay. I think she realized that avoiding everything that happened won't help either of us. So, starting in two weeks, we'll both go to therapy. Which is probably the best for now." Dot explained. It was a long and painful talk actually. It ripped open a lot of old wounds. But maybe that was necesarry.

"But, that's not the topic right now. Jug filled me in on what you guys found out. What's the plan?" Dot asked. She had to focus her energy on something else. And finding out who killed Jason was probably the best she could help with right now.

Betty shrugged. She looked like a puppy that just got punched in the face. It was terrible, this usually so lively girl was now completely beaten down by the lies of her parents. "I don't know, guys. I feel like I don't even know who my mom and dad are anymore." Betty admitted with a stern glare.

"Betty if your parents lied about Jason and Polly, there's probably more that they lied about." Jughead said as he started walking around the room. "What do you mean?" Betty asked. She was catching on, but most likely did not want to admitt it to herself. "Your dad said he would do anything to protect Polly. So the next logical question is How far would he go to protect her?" Jug asked.

Only cementing the group's theory further. "Jughead, whoever broke into Sheriff Keller's house and stole all his evidence wasn't at the drive-in. My Dad wasn't at the drive-in." Betty explained. Of course there were a lot of other people that weren't at the Twilight, but Dot couldn't imagine anyone else with a more compelling motive than Mr. or Mrs. Cooper right now.

"We need to talk to Polly." Jug said. Betty stared into seemingly nothing. It looked like she, understandably, really wanted to visit her sister. But none of them had any idea how they were gonna do that yet.


	7. True Colors

The four Blue & Gold workers had decided that the next part in their operation was crucial. Talking to Polly wasn't a job for all four of them, not to mention that in the end Betty would most likely be the only one that got to talk to Polly.

Dot had her mind focused on something else anyway. Riverdale High's variety show. She had prepared a song and was hoping Kevin would give her a spot. The brunette stood in front of her mirror. She was wearing a flowy dress, like she usually did. But today she was debating wether this looked "professional" enough.

Dot walked downstairs where she was greeted by her mother. "Hey, mom." she said, nervously fidgeting with her hands. Octavia noticed. "What is it, honey?" she asked. Dot sat down by the kitchen table. "I'm nervous. What if I mess this up?" the young girl asked. Octavia couldn't believe it. This wasn't like her daughter at all. "What are you talking about? You're gonna do amazing. You have a stunning voice." Octavia said smiling.

Dot usually wasn't this nervous. She's had parts in school musical's since middle school. But this was a whole other audience. All the kids she hadn't seen in years. And parents and other people to add onto that. She was freaking out.

"Now all you have to do is get out there and do your thing. The rest will fall into place. You know Kevin loves you. And if he loves your performance as much you'll get a spot for sure." Octavia assured her daughter. If there's one thing about Dot she was proud of, it was her singing voice. Dot nodded, smiling. "Okay. I'll try my best." she said.

* * *

 _"I see your true colors. And that's why I love you. So don't be afraid to let them show. Your true colors. True colors are beautiful, like a rainbow."_ that was it. Dot had finished the song. Without any mishaps. She opened her eyes, looking out into the audience. Veronica's eyes were gleaming with joy. She was one of the other people that gave her a push onto the stage. Even the jocks were quiet for a second.

Kevin seemed to be sold too. "That was amazing." he said excited. "I'll let you know if you got a spot." he added. "Thank you so much, Kev." Dot said, with a grin etched across her face. She went off the stage, taking the spot next to Veronica. "That was more than amazing. You'll get a spot for sure." V said excited. Dot sighed relieved. "Thank you." she said, leaning back.

"Archie Andrews?" Kevin asked into his microphone. Archie walked onto the stage, guitar strapped around shoulder. "And what will you be auditioning with?" Kevin asked. "Uh, an original song that I wrote called 'I'll Try'." the ginger said. Dot could see the sweat building on his forehead all the way from where he was sitting.

"Try harder! Maybe try not sucking so much." Reggie yelled out from behind them. "Shhh!" Dot made angrily. Why were they even here in the first place? Reggie roled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

Archie was struggeling. His fingers twitched above the guitar strings. He was nervous. Like Dot nervous, plus a thousand percent. "Take your time, Archie. Though we do have people waiting." Kevin pointed out. Still nothing from Archie.

"Oh, my God, what's happening?" Veronica asked schocked. "He's choking." Josie said behind her. Almost excited about it. "Archie? Clock's ticking." Kevin said a little impatently. "Excuse me. Sorry, I gotta go." Archie stuttered, running off the stage as the jocks cheered him on mockingly. "Oh god." Dot mumbled.

* * *

"What's up fellow murder investigators? Any new leads?" Dot asked Jug and Betty as she entered the room. She was still buzzing with excitment from how amazing her audition went. "We're gonna visit Polly." Betty said. "Great. That is amazing. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you." Dot said as she sat down on a nearby chair.

Betty nodded smiling. "How did your audition go, by the way?" she asked. Dot started grinning. "Great. I'm hoping I'll get a slot." she said. "Oh you will. You have a stunning voice." the blonde reasured her. Betty was the other half that pushed her onto the stage. Dot rehearsed True Colors in the office multiple times. And when Betty first heard her she insisted that Dot would try out for a slot in the show.

"Thank you, Betty. And thank you for pushing me to do new things. I really need this right now. Altough I hope you're not mad at me because I actually never really seem to help with the investigation." Dot said, biting her lip nervously.

"Are you kidding? You've been a great sport. And besides, this investigation thing is something on the side. Personal problems will be solved first, if they need to be." Betty said. Dot nodded. "Good. I'm glad I can help and I hope Polly can give us some more answers." she said. "Hopefully. And you're coming with us, if you want. Kippi's sick and we could really use another pair of eyes." Betty informed her smiling. "Also because we need someone to drive us." Jug chimned in. Betty nudged him. "Juggie!" she hissed. Dot couldn't help but laugh. "It's okay, B." she said.

* * *

At lunch you could see that there were two different sides sitting at the same table. On one side Archie was still having a hard time with his failed audition while Val was trying to cheer him up and on the other side the three Blue & Gold workers were talking about talking to Polly the next day.

"It's been months. There's gotta be a reason my mom and dad don't want me to see Polly. But I don't care anymore." Betty declared. She was breaking out of her shell, going against her parents will. "What are you guys talking about? Anything I can help with?" Archie suddenly asked.

Jug shook his head. "What we're attempting is a stealth operation, Archie. If we go in there with the entire Scooby Gang, forget it, we're compromised." he said. "Well, don't you have to practice for the Variety Show anyways?" Betty asked, trying to mend the situation. "Uh, no, I don't." Archie said quietly, locking eyes with Valerie.

"Except that yes, you do. Thanks to a certain Veronica-ex-machina." the raven-haired girl announced as she and Kevin arrived at the table. "Excuse me." she said, squeezing herself in between Archie and Val. "What do you mean?" Valerie asked. "Oh, nothing. Just that I had a few words with our director/host, and reminded him that he's heard you sing on numerous occasions." Veronica explained. Of course she'd stand up for Archie. She'd stand up for anyone that needs it.

"Even though it compromises my artistic integrity." Kevin chimed in, seeming a little salty about the fact that Veronica had wrapped him around her finger. "Cutting to the chase, you have a slot if you want it." V said, smiling at Archie.

Archie sighed. "Veronica, thank you, but you saw what happened." he said. "We all did." Kevin reminded him. Dot nudged her friend. He shrugged, turning back to his food. "Playing my songs in front of you guys is one thing, but getting back up on that stage by myself I'm not sure if I'm ready for that." Archie continued.

"If it's a partner you're looking for, Veronica Lodge is more than willing and able." she announced proudly. "Veronica, I didn't know you could sing." Betty said smiling. "Like a nightingale." V said still grinning. "Oh really, Ms. Nightingale? So why was I the one getting pushed onto that stage and not you?" Dot asked as Veronica had practically demanded that Dot would sing.

"Because, honey, you can sing. And until know I didn't have any interest in partaking in the show." Veronica reminded her. "Aha." Dot made, stuffing a frie in her mouth. Veronica smiled at her. "What do you say, Archiekins? Be the Jay to my Bey?" the young girl asked her best friend. He smiled at her. Both smiled at each other, actually. That was a yes apparently.

"Wait, so do I have a spot now?" Dot asked, turning to Kevin. Kevin grinned. "Of course. Did you ever doubt you would?" he asked. Dot eyes widened. "Yes!" she said, hugging Kevin from the side. "Thank you, Kev!" she shouted. "Told 'ya you'd get it." Betty said, nudging her arm. "Thanks, mom." Dot joked. Betty laughed, stealing one of Dot's fries.

* * *

"Okay, kids. We're here." Dot announced as the arrived at the "Sisters of Quiet Mercy." facility. Dot had seen Polly a few times when she was over at Betty's, but since she was older she usually hung out with her friends.

"You excited?" Dot asked Betty. She looked ahead nervously. "I am. But also scared." she admitted. "You can do this." the brunette said, lightly shaking her for reaproval. Betty breathed in. "Okay. Let's do this." she said nodding.

The three got out of Dot's car. They looked at the facility. "It looked more like a monastery than a home for troubled youths. "Don't judge a home for troubled youths by its facade, right?" Jug asked Betty. "Yeah. It looks...cosey." Dot lied, regretting it immediatly as she knew that she was a terrible liar. "Let's just get inside." she backpaddled.

They walked in, going to the front desk. "Hi. My name is Elizabeth Cooper. I'm here to see my sister, Polly." Betty said to the lady sitting behind the glass wall. "May I see some identification?" the lady asked. Betty crammed out her ID and slid it over to the woman. "Sign in here, please." she said, handing Betty a form. The blonde signed it. The lady eyed Dot and Jug. "They'll have to wait." she said. "Good luck." Dot said as she pulled Jug onto a nearby chair.

She sighed, taking her bag off. "I talked to Kippy. She demands to know what we found out when she's back." Dot informed Jug. The raven-haired teen laughed quietly. "Do you think Polly will be able to get us any further?" the brunette asked. Jug shrugged. "I hope." he said. Dot nodded.

About ten minutes passed when suddenly Mrs. Cooper walked into the building. "Crap!" Dot whispered, hitting Jug in the arm. "Of course you two would be with her. You're never far when Betty comes up with yet another juvenile plan." the woman said, walking past them.

Dot pulled Jug by his sleeve, signalling him to follow her. When they finally caught up with Mrs. Cooper she was already dragging Betty out of a room. As they were leaving, Betty and her mom ran into Polly.

"Mom?" Polly asked. "Polly..." Mrs. Cooper said, clearly at a loss for words. "Jason's dead? And you didn't tell me? And you kept me in here?" Polly asked angrily. She caught the attention of two orderlies who were quick to run up to her. " Baby, it's for your own good." Mrs. Cooper said, trying to justify her actions.

"Ugh! You always say that. And it's not true!" Polly yelled as the orderlies were taking her away. "No! Betty!" the blonde screamed, trying to grab her sisters arm. "I'm gonna get you out of here, I swear to God. I love you, Polly." Betty whispered, hugging her sister. "No!" Polly yelled as she got dragged away.

"Let's go, Elizabeth!" Mrs. Cooper hissed after a few seconds. It was evident that she was more than angry. "This will have consequences." she added.

"Oh my god." Dot mumbled. It was a heartbreaking sight. All Betty and Polly wanted was to be with each other again and that was continuisly prevented by their parents. "I think it's time to leave too." Jug said.

* * *

"You want something to eat?" Dot asked Jug as they arrived at her house. "Nah, I'm not really hungry." he answered, shaking his head. "Wow, you must be pretty upset. You're always hungry." Dot said. Even if the young girl herself couldn't say she wasn't shocked by what had just happened.

"Dorothy is that you?" Octavia yelled from the kitched. "Yes!" Dot yelled back a little nervous. Her mom almost only called her by her full name when she was in trouble. She walked into the living room, Jug trailing after her.

"Oh, Jug, good you're both here. Guess who called me." Octavia said with a stern glare. Not really angry, just disappointed. "Santa Claus?" Dot joked, trying to lighten the mood. Octavia roled her eyes. "No, Dot. Mrs. Cooper. She told me what you three were up to." she informed them. "Am I in a lot of trouble?" Dot asked. "No. I know normally you'd totally need to get grounded now, but I also know you're just trying to help Betty. And I still want to hear you sing tomorrow." Octavia said. Dot sighed relieved. "Okay. That's good. Thank you." she said. "Come on, guys. I made dinner." Octavia said with a nod towards the kitchen. "Thank god, I'm starving." Jug said. Dot knitted her eyebrows together. "Are you for real right now?" she asked.

* * *

"No, no, no! Come on, not right now!" Dot hissed, going trough her make-up bag. Just as she was about to go on stage she realized she'd forgotten her mascara. It might have been irrelevant since people probably couldn't even tell the difference but she didn't want to take any chances. She was freaking out.

"Need help?" Veronica asked, putting her hands on her shoulders. The brunette sat in front of the mirror, trying not to slam her head onto the table. "I forgot my mascara." she said. "Come on, Dottie. As long as you do your thing and blow the audience away with your voice, which you will, they won't notice." Veronica said, trying to raise Dot's mood. She knew it was about more than just this trifle.

"Is this really just about the mascara?" the raven-haired beauty asked. Her friend shook her head. "I'm freaking out right now." Dot admitted shaking her head. "Well don't." Veronica said, handing her her own mascara. "Because you're gonna kill it out there. No doubt." she reassured the brunette. The young girl nodded. "So will you." she said. "Thank you. Now finish up, you're next." V reminded her.

With another burden out of the way, all that was left to do for Dot was go out on stage and not stumble on her own words. She finished up, straightened out her skirt and sleeveles blouse and waited for Kevin to announce her name.

"And next up we have Dorothy Cahill. Give it up, everyone!" he announced. Applause swept trough the auditorium as Dot went up to the microphone. She had asked a few of her classmates to be her instrumental background. They started playing. Dot looked out into the audience. Her mother was sitting next to Mrs. Lodge and Mr. Andrews. She was smiling at her.

 _"You with the sad eyes. Don't be discouraged. Oh I realize. Its hard to take courage..."_ the next few minutes went by in a haze. Every word dropped out of her mouth smoothly. She almost didn't even notice when her classmates stopped playing. Applause errupted once more. People liked it. Dot smiled as she walked off the stage. "That was Dorothy and her amazing rendition of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors!" Kevin yelled into the mic.

"Oh my god!" Veronica yelled as Dot almost jumped into her arms. "I can't believe it! New favourite cover of True Colors!" she added excitedly. "Thank you so much! Good luck to you guys." Dot said. The Pussycat's were up next. "Great job, Dot!" Archie complimented as she walked past him. "Thank you. You'll be just fine out there." Dot assured him. He nodded smiling. "Thank you." he said.

* * *

Dot got a call from Jug. They had news. Dot ran into them in the school hallway. "What is it?" Dot asked, trying to catch her breath. "We have to get Polly, now!" Betty demanded. "Of course! Let's go!" Dot yelled.

The group jumped out of the car, it was heavily raining at this point. Dot wished she would've put on her jackett, but there was no time for that now. Polly wasn't lying, Jason and her wanted to run off together. They had to get her immediatly.

The three teenagers ran past the administration desk without a care. Betty was shoving oderlies and nurses out of the way, nothing would stop the girl next door from getting her sister out of the home now. Except, maybe, a broken window and Polly gone. "Polly?" Betty asked in disbelieve as all three stared out the window into the stormy night.


End file.
